The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Donna Robert
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to Israel this week to speak with officials about their timetable for completing the next phase of the war against Hamas, the White House announced Wednesday.
Mr. Sullivan will visit the Jewish state on Thursday and Friday. He will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his war Cabinet and President Isaac Herzog, White House spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.
Speaking publicly Tuesday, Mr. Sullivan said he wants to speak with Israeli officials about their post-war plan for the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian militant group reigns.
“The subject of how they are seeing the timetable of this war will certainly be on the agenda for my meetings,” Mr. Sullivan said at a Wall Street Journal forum without saying when he planned to visit.
The trip comes as President Biden has begun to express increased concern about the death of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, even as he has expressed strong support for the Israeli war effort.
At a campaign fundraiser Wednesday, Mr. Biden said Israel has most of the world’s support, but “they’re starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place.”
Mr. Biden is scheduled to meet with family members of Americans taken hostage by Hamas during its Oct. 7 terrorist attack on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed.
