US wants Israel to transition to a more targeted phase in war within weeks, senior official says

US President Joe Biden's administration has signaled to Israel that it wants it to transition to a lower intensity phase of its war on Hamas within weeks — potentially by the end of the year, according to a senior US official.

The US hopes a new phase will minimize civilian deaths, which have mounted in Gaza and caused international outcry.

US officials say they know Israel will continue to go after Hamas leadership — and the US believes it's critical take them out. But they have continually pressed Israel to take steps to protect civilians as it goes after the group responsible for the October 7 terror attacks.

On Thursday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet. He asked what the White House called “hard questions” about the Israeli offensive, including efforts to be more surgical and precise in the Israel Defense Forces' targeting.

He also raised the imperative of moving to a new phase of the conflict, which has killed thousands of civilians in Gaza.

“He did talk about possible transitioning from what we would call high intensity operations, which is what we're seeing them do now, to lower intensity operations,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.