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Jake Sullivan, the White House’s national security adviser, met with Israeli officials Thursday as U.S.-Israeli tensions hit new highs. The Biden administration has told the Israeli government that it wants Israel to end its large-scale ground campaign in Gaza and transition to a more targeted phase of its war against Hamas, two U.S. officials familiar with the discussions told NBC News.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back on criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza, pledging to continue. “Nothing will stop us. We are going on to the end, until victory, nothing less,” he said. His comments on Wednesday came amid international condemnation of his government, including from the leader of his country’s closest ally, Biden.
Another significant divide is emerging between the U.S. and Israel, with a senior Israeli diplomat saying the country “absolutely” would not accept a two-state solution following the war. This runs counter to long-standing U.S. policy objectives in the region, as well as recent Biden comments. Yesterday, a State Department spokesperson said “there can be no lasting peace and security” without a Palestinian state.
More than 18,700 Palestinians have been killed, with 70% of them women and children, according to the territory’s health officials. The vast majority of its 2.2 million people are displaced, and an estimated half face starvation amid an unfolding humanitarian crisis.
Israeli military officials say 116 soldiers have been killed during the country’s ground invasion in Gaza, which came after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and seized about 240 hostages Oct. 7.
Israel's pain is too fresh to discuss two-state solution, Herzog says
JERUSALEM— Israel’s president has joined the ranks of high-ranking officials to speak out against a two-state solution after the war in Gaza.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Isaac Herzog said it is not the time to be talking about establishing an independent Palestinian state when the country’s pain from Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack is still fresh.
“What I want to urge is against just saying two-state solution. Why? Because there is an emotional chapter here that must be dealt with. My nation is bereaving. My nation is in trauma,” said Herzog.
Herzog spoke a day before a meeting with the White House’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. The Biden administration has said that after the war, efforts must be renewed to restart negotiations aimed at establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel under the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.
A journalist’s perspective: Reporting on the Israel-Hamas war
TEL AVIV — NBC News correspondents Raf Sanchez and Hala Gorani share their experience reporting on the Israel-Hamas war.
They detail stories they can’t forget and reflect on their mental well-being after reporting on so much suffering.
At least 10 killed, 15 injured in bombing: Palestine Red Crescent Society
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said today that its ambulances transported 10 people who were killed, and another 15 who were injured, in a bombing in Deir al-Balah.
A video also released by PRCS showed paramedics carrying a small child with blood on their head in to the back of an ambulance, apparently injured in the bombing. The child, whose clothing and face were gray with ash, cried as a man wiped the blood from their face, according to the video.
PCRS said today that it has struggled to get in contact from its team in Gaza as the Palestinian enclave experiences yet another communications black out.
"We feel extreme concern about the possibility of our teams continuing to provide emergency services, especially as this disruption affects the central 101 operation room and hinders the arrival of ambulances to the injured and wounded," the organization said in a post on X.
Palestinians search destroyed family home in Rafah
Palestinians gather around the destroyed Shehada family home today following the bombardment of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Inside the Israeli hospital dedicated to the rehab of soldiers
TEL AVIV — Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the Ichilov hospital ihas dedicated an entire floor to the rehab of wounded Israeli soldiers.
NBC News was granted access inside by the military and spoke to a soldier recovering from the assault.
Danish company denies Houthi claim container ship hit by Yemeni militia
COPENHAGEN/DUBAI — Danish shipping company Maersk on Friday denied a claim by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement that the militia made a drone strike on a Maersk vessel sailing toward Israel.
The Houthi earlier claimed it carried out a military operation against a Maersk container vessel, directly hitting it with a drone. The Houthi, who made the claim in a statement, did not release any evidence.
Maersk on Thursday said ship Maersk Gibraltar was targeted by a missile while traveling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and that the crew and vessel were reported safe.
The incident took place near the Bad al-Mandab Strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, where Yemen’s Houthi on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a missile attack on a Norwegian chemical tanker.
Injured Israeli soldier who returned from Gaza says he wants to 'bring back the peace'
TEL AVIV — An Israeli soldier who was evacuated out of Gaza after he was injured by mortar fire during ground operations believes the military is doing everything it can to “bring back our hostages and end the war.”
Speaking from a hospital bed, where he has been receiving care since his evacuation in early November, Sgt. First Class Ofer said his unit was “amongst the first forces” to enter the enclave. In early November, he said he was injured in mortar fire that killed a member of his unit.
The soldier, who spoke on the condition that his last name be withheld said he believed he was doing "what you're supposed to do ... You're making a way back to peace, for us and for the other side, for the civilians of the other side." Asked how he feels about mounting criticisms of the Israeli military’s offensive in Gaza, which has seen more than 18,700 people killed in the enclave, he said it wasn’t his “job or decision ... to dissect all of the different opinions.”
“I work in my operational zone, which is to bring back the peace with my unit and everyone’s forces to bring back our hostages, and end the war,” he said. “That’s what I do, and leave the other higher ground to people who need to do this.”
Sullivan to meet with Palestinian Authority president tomorrow
Jake Sullivan, the White House's national security advisor, will travel to Ramallah tomorrow to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, according to a senior administration official.
Sullivan is expected to discuss the Palestinian Authority's role in setting the conditions to ensure another Oct. 7 attack doesn't happen again, as well as to reiterate the U.S. support for Palestinians, the official said.
This follows what the official described as a good, "substantive," discussion between Sullivan and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today in Tel Aviv. The meeting also included Netanyahu's war cabinet, where the official said Sullivan was briefed on Israeli efforts to minimize civilian causalities in Gaza.
U.S. urges Israel to end large-scale ground war, move to more targeted phase
The Biden administration has told the Israeli government that it wants Israel to end its large-scale ground campaign in Gaza and transition to a more targeted phase of its war against Hamas, two U.S. officials familiar with the discussions told NBC News.
The officials stressed National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan did not specify a timetable for this new phase of the war during his meeting today with Netanyahu.
At an unrelated event, Biden was asked whether he wanted Israel to scale back its assault on Gaza. He responded: “I want them to be focused on how to save civilian lives. Not stop going after Hamas — but be more careful.”
At today's White House press briefing, National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby said Sullivan spoke with Netanyahu about “the next phase of Israel’s military campaign and he asked hard questions as we have been doing, about what all that could look like.”
Kirby said Sullivan “also discussed efforts Israel’s now undertaking to be more surgical and precise in their targeting and efforts that they are taking to help increase the flow of aid.”
Before meeting with Sullivan today, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that the war against Hamas would “last more than several months.”
“That’s consistent with what they’ve been saying since almost the very beginning, that this could take some time.” Kirby said. “We’re not dictating terms to the Israelis about how long it has to take.”
U.S. officials acknowledge it will take Israel months to take out Hamas leaders, which will continue even if this high-intensity phase moves to a more surgical one. The debate over the pace of the war comes after President Biden warned earlier this week in a speech to donors that Israel was losing global support because of “indiscriminate bombing.”
Israeli opposition leader calls for 'normalization' in Gaza, warns against harming 'important relationship' with U.S.
Benny Gantz, the head of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition, said that the "normalization processes need to be started" following a visit to Israel by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
"It is clear to both us and our partners that the old concepts, and the reality of the past decades, need to change and be forward-looking," Gantz said today, adding that Israel is at the beginning of a yearslong process.
Gantz noted that Sullivan reaffirmed the U.S. interest in normalization during a conversation the two had today. The remarks follow tensions between Netanyahu and the U.S. on Gaza’s post-war future, which Gantz also seemed to refer to.
"Unfortunately, even in these difficult times, some are trying to sabotage the unity in our people and sabotage the relationship with the United States," Gantz said.