Friday Briefing: U.S. Urges Israel to Scale Back Its War
The U.S. wants Israel to reduce ground operations within weeks
The Biden administration has told the Israeli government that it wants Israel to end its large-scale ground campaign in the Gaza Strip around the end of the year and transition to more targeted actions against Hamas, four senior U.S. officials said.
The U.S. envisions Israel using smaller groups of elite forces that would move in and out of population centers in Gaza, carrying out more precise missions to find and kill Hamas leaders, rescue hostages and destroy tunnels. In response to the American advice, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement saying that “Israel will continue the war until we complete all of its goals.”
The call for a change in tactics comes as differences between the U.S. and Israel have widened in recent weeks as the conditions in Gaza turn catastrophic. For more on the situation there, we spoke with Raja Abdulrahim, a Middle East correspondent for The Times.
What are you hearing from Palestinians in Gaza right now?
Life is terrible for Palestinians in Gaza. As journalists, when we talk to them, it’s so hard for us to even know what to say anymore. But what people are telling me these days is that they’re just clinging to life. Some people have told me that they would rather just have a nuclear bomb come and take them all out because the situation has gotten so desperate, and they don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. So it’s just an incredibly grim place.
