The White House has said that “it’s the right time” for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The call came as Israeli leaders again vowed to press ahead with their operation against the territory’s ruling Hamas militant group.
The comments exposed the growing differences between the close allies as the war passed the 100-day mark.
100 days of captivity in Gaza is far too long. The United States will not rest until all remaining hostages, including six Americans, are reunited with their loved ones.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 15, 2024
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Also on Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck targets in Lebanon following a Hizbullah missile attack that killed two Israeli civilians – an older woman and her adult son – in northern Israel.
The exchange of fire underlined concerns that the Gaza violence could trigger wider fighting across the region.
The war in Gaza, launched by Israel in response to the unprecedented October 7th attack by Hamas, has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians, devastated vast swathes of Gaza, driven around 85 per cent of the territory’s 2.3 million residents from their homes and pushed a quarter of the population into starvation.
Speaking on CBS, White House national security council spokesperson John Kirby said America has been speaking to Israel “about a transition to low-intensity operations” in Gaza.
“We believe it’s the right time for that transition. And we’re talking to them about doing that,” he said on Face The Nation.
Israel launched the offensive after the Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage. Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead until Hamas is destroyed and all of the more than 100 hostages still in captivity are freed.
The war has sent tensions soaring across the region, with Israel trading fire almost daily with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group and Iranian-backed militias attacking US targets in Syria and Iraq.
In addition, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been targeting international shipping, drawing a wave of American air strikes last week.
Hizbullah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said his group will not stop until a ceasefire is in place for Gaza.
“We are continuing, and our front is inflicting losses on the enemy and putting pressure on displaced people,” Mr Nasrallah said in a speech, referring to the tens of thousands of Israelis who have fled northern border areas.
In other developments, tens of thousands of people in Europe and the Middle East took to the streets Sunday to mark the 100th day of the war. Opposing demonstrations either demanded the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas or called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In Israel, supporters of the hostages and their families wrapped up a 24-hour protest in Tel Aviv calling on the government to win their immediate release.
Late on Sunday, Hamas released a short video in which three Israeli hostages, presumably speaking under duress, pleaded with their government to end the war and bring them home.
It was not clear when the video was taken. At the end of the clip, Hamas said it would provide an update on their fate Monday.
Hamas has released several videos of this kind, in an apparent effort to pressure Israel to agree to its demand of ending the war ahead of negotiations on a possible release of all hostages in exchange for most or all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
