U.S. national security adviser presses Israel on civilian casualties in Gaza warfare

Dec. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet Thursday as pressure mounts over the rising number of civilian casualties in Gaza.

That death count has prompted a warning from U.S. President Joe Biden that Israel is increasingly at risk of losing international support for its war against Hamas.

Sullivan discussed the shared objective of defeating Hamas with Netanhayu and his cabinet, while minimizing harm to civilians and ensuring the increased and sustained flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

"Mr. Sullivan was briefed in detail on the State of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, including its objectives, phasing, and setting conditions for shifts over time from high intensity clearing operations to lower intensity surgical operations against Hamas remnants," a release from the White House said.

Axios reported, based on unnamed U.S. and Israeli officials, that Sullivan told Netanyahu the military campaign has to "transition to the next lower intensity phase in a matter of weeks, not months."

Throughout the day Thursday in Tel Aviv, Sullivan met with Netanyahu, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, and war cabinet member Benny Gantz.

"Mr. Sullivan confirmed U.S. support for Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens from Hamas, which has vowed to carry out the atrocities of October 7 over and over again," the White House release said. "He welcomed increased coordination with the UN, Egypt, and other partners on the delivery and distribution of humanitarian assistance and stressed the importance of expanding and sustaining the flow of assistance into Gaza."

In addition to discussing Israel's war practices, Sullivan also discussed the release of hostages taken by Hamas, including eight Americans.

Sullivan described U.S. efforts in coordination with allies and partners to deter any attempt to expand the conflict regionally, including in the Red Sea, according to the White House, "and expressed President Biden's commitment to restoring calm along the Blue Line through a combination of deterrence and diplomacy," it read.

On his way to Israel, Sullivan met Wednesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, where they discussed efforts to broker peace between Israelis and Palestinians and efforts to deliver aid to Gaza, according to a White House readout of the conversation.

NSC Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Thursday that Sullivan talked "about possible transitioning from what we would call 'high intensity operations sometime, you know, in the near future," but stopped short of imposing a deadline.

"I don't want to put a timestamp on it," he continued.

The trip comes amid a rift between Biden and Netanyahu over who will lead Gaza after the war and the deaths of civilians.

Biden warned on Wednesday that global support for Israel was starting to wane after more than 18,000 Palestinian civilian deaths.

"Israel's security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world," Biden said. "But they're starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place."

In what appeared to be a response to Biden's comment, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen brushed off the criticism.

"Israel will continue the war against Hamas, with or without international support," he said.

On Thursday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society lost contact with its Gaza-based central 101 operation room.

"We feel extreme concern about the possibility of our teams continuing to provide emergency services," the PRCS said in a statement.

CNN reports that on Thursday President Biden told reporters that he wanted the Israeli military "to be more focused on how to save civilian lives. Not stop going after Hamas but be more careful."