From the Liveblog of
Friday, December 8, 2023
Biden administration said to demand Israel conclude war against Hamas by end of year
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Citing three anonymous officials in Tel Aviv, Politico reports that US President Joe Biden’s administration has told Israel it has until the end of 2023 to conclude the war in Gaza against Hamas.
The US news outlet notes Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s reported warning last week that Israel likely has “weeks” to wrap up the fighting, but also highlights comments yesterday by Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer that Washington has not given a “firm deadline” to Jerusalem.
A senior Israeli official appears to brush off the prospect of a US deadline.
“They advised us not to go into Gaza, but we did,” the official tells Politico. “We went into Gaza because that was the only way we could destroy Hamas and free our hostages. They told us, don’t go into the terror tunnels. But if we don’t go into the terror tunnels, there’s no way we can destroy Hamas. They told us not to go into the hospitals despite them being used by Hamas as command and control centers, but we went into those hospitals, and we did what we needed to do.”
“And we’ll do what we need to do to reach decisive victory,” the official adds.
The Times of Israel Community.