US national security adviser Jake Sullivan will conduct “extremely serious conversations” with Israeli officials during his visit this week, the White House says, as the US looks to press Israel to conduct a more “surgical” campaign against Hamas.
Sullivan is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with the Israeli war cabinet during the trip, which begins Thursday. He also plans to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The national security adviser will address the issue of aid flowing into Gaza and the “next phase of the military campaign,” according to John Kirby, the Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council.
Sullivan will discuss with the Israelis “efforts to be more surgical and more precise and to reduce harm to civilians.”
“That is an aim of ours. And the Israelis say it is an aim of theirs,” Kirby said. “But it's the results that count.”
He said the US has concerns about Israel’s prosecution of its offensive against Hamas — as demonstrated by President Biden’s remarks to Democratic donors Tuesday — and has raised those with Israeli officials.
“The president yesterday reflected the reality of global opinion, which also matters. Our support for Israel is not diminished. But we have had concerns,” Kirby said. “And we have expressed those concerns about the prosecution of this military campaign, even while acknowledging that it's Hamas that started this, and it's Hamas that is continuing it.”
“I’m not going to get ahead of the conversations that Jake will be having,” Kirby went on. “But I would like to just say that these are extremely serious conversations and we hope there'll be constructive as well.”
Sullivan is likely to make additional stops in the region, though Kirby declined to say where.