Sullivan heads to 'Israel' amid Biden-Netanyahu rift
2 Min Read
Biden's National Security Advisor's visit comes amid a public rift between the US President and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the aggression on Gaza.
-
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan attends a joint news conference with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts on Saturday, December 9, 2023. (AP)
Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden's national security advisor, is headed to "Israel" to meet with top Israeli officials amid the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
The scheduled visit spans two days and occurs amid a public rift between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly regarding the blowback caused by the Israeli indiscriminate bombing campaign and divergent views on the future of Palestinians post-aggression. Sullivan will also address discussions on efforts to secure the release of the eight American captives held by Hamas.
Sullivan will meet Netanyahu, along with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and top Israeli military leaders, on Thursday and Friday.
Read next: US supports "Israel" war on Gaza: White House
He is scheduled to conduct “extremely serious conversations” with Israeli officials during his visit, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during a White House briefing on Wednesday, adding that he is set to discuss “efforts to be more surgical and more precise and to reduce harm to civilians."
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 18,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 50,000 injured during the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip.
'Israel's' dumb bombs
Earlier today, CNN reported, citing a new US intelligence assessment, that since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on October 7, nearly half of the air-to-ground munitions used by "Israel" against the Strip are unguided, commonly referred to as "dumb bombs."
According to a recent intelligence assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, approximately 40-45% of the 29,000 air-to-ground munitions employed by "Israel" in Gaza fall into the category of unguided munitions, while the remainder are precision-guided.
Unguided munitions are generally less accurate and can pose a higher risk to civilians, particularly in densely populated areas like Gaza, the CNN report mentioned.
It is noteworthy that on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden harshly criticized Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government over the "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza.
The Financial Times reported that Biden has overtly and publically expressed concern that this was costing "Israel" its international support.
