According to a report by The Economist, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken informally notified "Israel" during his last visit that the war should be over in the Gaza Strip by the beginning of 2024, even though both the US and "Israel" deny the presence of any deadline designated by the White House. 

The report added that the US is demanding that "Israel" minimize civilian casualties in the Strip.

However, Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, expressed earlier this month that not only is the US change of tone "not substantive", but if the occupation were to pursue its indiscriminate bombing, then the US “really hasn’t had an effect.”

Two days ago, Axios cited a senior Israeli security official as saying that the US is neither imposing a deadline on "Israel" regarding its war on Gaza, nor "pulling the brakes" on the invasion but is only suggesting that time is running out.

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The official added that the military invasion in Khan Younis is expected to be concluded in the next three to four weeks, while the war on Gaza in its "high-intensity" phase is estimated to continue for another three to four weeks as well, Axios reported, citing a senior Israeli military official.

Counting the clock

This comes after the White House reiterated its full support for the Israeli occupation entity's war on the Strip amid increasing international and domestic pressure on the administration of US President Joe Biden for a ceasefire and an end to the inhumane aggression on Gaza.

In a related context, Amichai Stein, Kan TV’s political affairs correspondent, stated, "The Americans are sending a clear message to Israel in recent days, emphasizing that this intensive operation in the southern Gaza Strip may span weeks, not months, but only weeks."

Continuing, Stein added, "We will not provide exact dates, but to give you an idea, we are looking at around the beginning of January, coinciding with the start of the American primaries."

He clarified, "The American message is that there are weeks available to conclude the major offensive in the South. While there may be future operations and raids sporadically, the main offensive must come to a close within weeks."