Washington targets early 2024 to end Israeli ops. in Gaza: Al-Monitor
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The American Al-Monitor website reported that the Biden administration has set the beginning of 2024 as the target date for concluding the substantial Israeli military operation in Gaza.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu give a joint press conference, on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023, in al-Quds. (AP)
Citing Israeli sources, the American Al-Monitor website reported on Tuesday that the Biden administration has designated the start of 2024 as the target date for concluding the extensive Israeli military operation in Gaza.
According to the website, it clarified that the beginning of 2024 is not framed as a "deadline" for concluding the Israeli military operation in Gaza but is rather characterized as a "goal."
The website highlighted, "During the war, the target dates could change, but the Americans clearly believe that Israel is close to exhausting the large-scale ground invasion it launched on October 27, and must shift to more focused efforts to topple Hamas."
A high-ranking Israeli diplomat told Al-Monitor, “The gap between us and the Americans is about 3 weeks to a month - nothing that cannot be resolved.”
Read next: Israeli media: Fear of war ending without victory
In a related context, Amichai Stein, Kan channel’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."
Read next: US patience with 'Israel' over Gaza is waning: Israeli media
Earlier last month, a new report by the New York Times citing US officials stated that "Israel" has a "limited time" to conduct its Gaza Strip operations.
The report noted that the time given to "Israel" in the Strip is inversely proportional to the level of anger among the Arab people across the region, as well as the frustration ensuing inside the US and various other countries, due to the skyrocketing civilian deaths caused by indiscriminate raids against the Strip, including hospitals and places of worship.
While the Israeli goal in Gaza is to "eradicate Hamas", the NYT report noted that US senior Biden administration officials have allegedly pressured "Israel" to exert effort to minimize civilian casualties.
