Israeli occupation officials confirmed their rejection of the American demand related to quickly ending the aggression on Gaza, within weeks and not months.

Sullivan's visit to Israel

During his visit to Israel yesterday, Thursday, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discussed with occupation officials a timeline for the war on Gaza, with the intense attacks to end early next year 2024, according to the American demand, which was rejected by the Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, who stated that the war will continue for a period exceeding a few months.

Sullivan confirmed, during his meetings yesterday, Thursday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the occupation war cabinet, that the "peak phase" in the war on Gaza must end within weeks and not months, moving to low-intensity fighting, according to what the Israeli site "Walla" quoted a senior American official familiar with the content of the meetings.

A White House spokesman confirmed that the United States hopes that the war on Gaza will stop "as soon as possible." Spokesman John Kirby said that during Sullivan's visit to Israel yesterday, Thursday, he discussed a shift in the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip in the near future towards less intense operations. Kirby did not clarify what the less intense military operations would look like.

Before his visit to Israel, Sullivan told the American newspaper "Wall Street Journal" that he would discuss a timeline to end the war, and urges Israeli officials to move to "a different phase of the type of high-intensity operations we see today."

The American demand was rejected

However, the American demand to end the aggression on Gaza as soon as possible was rejected by occupation leaders, as a statement issued by the office of the head of the occupation government mentioned that he informed Sullivan that "Israel will continue its war on Gaza until a clear victory" – as alleged.

The occupation Minister of Defense also affirmed during his meeting with the U.S. National Security Advisor yesterday, Thursday, that the war in Gaza will take more than a few months, claiming: "Hamas is a terrorist organization built itself over a decade to fight Israel, and built an underground and aboveground infrastructure, which is not easy to destroy," according to the "Agence France-Presse". He added: "It will take some time, it will take more than a few months, but we will win and destroy them."

The Israeli "Channel 12" had reported yesterday, Thursday, coinciding with Sullivan's visit to Israel, that the intense attack on Gaza may end as Washington wants by next year, but it requires long weeks to withdraw forces from the sector, with the phase of eliminating Hamas continuing throughout 2024, according to the "Channel." This includes a shift in tactics to destroy Hamas's military capability through ground operations and specific air raids aimed at pursuing Hamas members, senior movement commanders, and other military targets.

American officials said that Sullivan urged Israeli leaders to shift from reliance on air raids and ground attacks in Gaza to targeted military operations, and warned that the prolonged conflict will make it difficult to rule the Palestinian territories after the war, according to a report in the "Wall Street Journal".

American pressure to try to end the conflict

Sullivan's meetings with Israeli political and military leaders on Thursday seem not to have achieved significant progress in addressing the growing dispute between the United States and Israel regarding civilian casualties, the duration of the conflict, the weak international support for the Israeli campaign, and the future governance of the Gaza Strip, according to the newspaper.

The United States is exerting full pressure in the region until the Israelis begin to end the conflict, and American officials whose names "Wall Street Journal" did not mention said that the United States wants to see the fighting end within weeks, not months, although the Biden administration continues to support the Israeli campaign to destroy Hamas’s ability to carry out military operations or rule Gaza.

American officials, including Sullivan, are present in Israel to encourage the occupation army to "improve its approach inside Gaza and start moving to operations that rely more on intelligence, special operations forces, and smaller bombs."

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Air Force Joint Chiefs Chair General CQ Brown are expected to arrive in Israel over the weekend, as indicated by the "Wall Street Journal."