A senior U.S. official said Friday overnight that the days of Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, are "numbered." Speaking to reporters at the White House, the official emphasized that Sinwar was also responsible for the death of American citizens: "It doesn't matter how long it takes, but justice will be served.”
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The official also addressed reports that Israel has begun flooding Hamas’ underground tunnels in the Strip, saying that it is a "tactical issue" for the U.S. rather than a strategic move.
The American official added that in the talks held during his visit to Israel, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of Israel’s War Cabinet, stressed not only the need to shift to lower-intensity fighting in the Strip but also the need to focus on "high-value targets," possibly pointing to the elimination of senior Hamas leaders.
The official added that it would be irresponsible to pinpoint specific timelines for the U.S. to press Israel into lowering the intensity of the fighting in the Strip. However, he emphasized that Israel's ground operations can’t continue indefinitely. He noted that the talks between Sullivan and Israeli officials also specifically addressed efforts to release Israeli hostages.
On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden said that he wants Israel to be focused on how to save civilian lives. He said the IDF should “not stop going after Hamas, but be more careful.” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on a visit to Israel, discussed the need for the military to transition from high-intensity to "lower-intensity" in the fighting in Gaza.
As part of the American effort for Israel to lower the intensity of its operations in Gaza, The New York Times reported that Biden wishes for Israel to use more focused combat methods in the region within three weeks or shortly thereafter.
According to four U.S. government officials, the new phase in the war the Americans hope to see will involve the use of relatively small elite forces that will enter densely populated urban centers in Gaza for special missions, such as locating and eliminating Hamas leaders, rescuing hostages, and destroying underground tunnel systems.