Jake Sullivan, the U.S National Security Adviser has landed in Israel for a two-day visit.
He is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Sullivan is also slated to have meetings with Netanyahu’s war cabinet and President Isaac Herzog, amid efforts by the White House to pressure Israel to reduce its “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza.
Sullivan began his tour of the region on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, when he met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia.
According to the White House, Sullivan and the Saudi Crown Prince discussed a number of bilateral and regional matters, including ongoing efforts to create new conditions for an enduring and sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
They discussed the humanitarian response in Gaza, including how to increase the flow of critical aid to the Palestinian enclave, it added.
Sullivan and Mohammed bin Salman also discussed areas of deepening bilateral cooperation in the fields of security, commerce, space exploration, and advanced technologies, including open radio access (O-Ran) networks, the White House said.
Steve Cohen, a senior Democratic congressman, is adding his voice to the list of American politicians critical of Israel’s war on Gaza, underscoring that the US is Israel’s “last real friend”.
“Netanyahu has gone way too far and Jake Sullivan will be informing him that the bombing must be greatly limited or Israel will be without its last real friend, the USA & Joe Biden,” he wrote in a social media post.
“The President is finished with Bibi’s Putin-like no holds barred war. Hostages first! Civilians never.”
Sullivan Meets Netanyahu
Jake Sullivan and Benjamin Netanyahu had a meeting in Tel Aviv.
A statement posted on social media by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office revealed that Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Brett McGurk, US President Joe Biden’s senior Middle East adviser, were also in attendance.
Earlier, Sullivan met Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and they discussed the fight against Hamas and the tensions on the Lebanese border. In short comments after the meeting, Gallant thanked the US administration for its “unreserved support”.
Gallant also told Sullivan that Israel would need “more than a few months” to dismantle Hamas and stressed “it is going to be a long war”.
In other developments, ICRC Chief, Mirjana Spoljaric arrived in Israel to meet families of captives.
“After visiting Gaza I am in Israel for ongoing discussions with authorities,” Spoljaric posted on X.
Mirjana Spoljaric reiterated that all captives held in Gaza must be released immediately.
She also said the International Committee of the Red Cross “must be granted permission” to visit those still being held.
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