WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan plans to travel to Israel on Thursday and Friday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid U.S. efforts to pressure Israel to dial back its “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza.
Sullivan has planned meetings with Netanyahu, his War Cabinet, and President Herzog to discuss the latest developments in Israel and Gaza, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on Wednesday.
The trip comes amid open tensions between U.S. President Joe Biden and Netanyahu over the Israeli military operation in Gaza that followed the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Hamas militant group.
Israel’s retaliation against the Hamas attack has killed 18,000 people, Gaza officials say, wounded 50,000 and created a humanitarian crisis in the small coastal enclave.
Biden said on Tuesday that Israel is losing support over its “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza and that Netanyahu should change, exposing a new rift in relations with the Israeli prime minister.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Louise Heavens and Christina Fincher)
