Today, Thursday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan arrived in Israel to hold talks on the war on the Gaza Strip, while Israeli media revealed details of a timetable for the war that Tel Aviv will present to the American official.
Israeli Army Radio said that Sullivan arrived in Tel Aviv, without further details.
Israeli Channel 12 reported today that Israel will present to Sullivan during his visit what it said was a timetable for the war on the Gaza Strip.
According to the Israeli timetable, Israel is expected to end the phase of violent fighting by the end of next January.
She indicated that the Americans initially aimed to complete this by Christmas, that is, the beginning of January 2024, but in light of the current situation, Israel does not see that as possible.
She added that Israel will need a few more weeks after the fighting ends, to complete the withdrawal of forces from the heart of Gaza and deploy them in the defensive lines, some inside the Strip and some outside it.
According to the channel, estimates in Israel indicate that the phase of completing the elimination of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) will extend over the course of 2024, and includes the destruction of its military capacity through operations and raids by the Israeli army.
She explained that what is most important for Israel is continued security control (over Gaza) in the foreseeable future.
In addition to the time frame of the war, among the issues that Sullivan will discuss – according to Channel 12 – is the fate of Gaza after the war, the role of the Palestinian Authority, the transfer of clearance funds (taxes) to the Authority, and the entry of Palestinian workers from the West Bank into Israel.
Israel has prevented workers from the West Bank from entering Israel to work since Hamas launched, on October 7, the Al-Aqsa Flood attack against Israeli settlements and military bases in the vicinity of Gaza. In response to the daily Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people and their sanctities.
Reuters quoted American officials as saying that Sullivan discussed – yesterday, Wednesday – in Saudi Arabia, increased diplomatic efforts to maintain stability throughout the region and prevent the expansion of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, in addition to efforts to increase the flow of basic aid to Gaza and ongoing efforts to provide new conditions for sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Since last October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza that, as of Wednesday, left 18,608 martyrs and 50,594 injured, most of them children and women, massive infrastructure destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to Palestinian and UN sources.