US sees Saudi Arabia as key partner in preventing Gaza war from expanding
Before travelling to Israel, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan visited Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the war in Gaza. Specifically, according to an official White House statement, Sullivan and bin Salman discussed "ongoing efforts to create new conditions for a lasting and sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians" as well as "the humanitarian response in Gaza, including efforts to increase the flow of aid".
Also, according to a US official quoted by Axios, Sullivan's visit to Riyadh was aimed at maintaining Washington's diplomatic efforts to protect stability throughout the region and prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from expanding, one of the main fears since the war began on October 7 following the Islamist group's attack.
In addition to Hamas, other proxies of Iran in the Middle East such as the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon have intervened in the conflict by launching attacks against Israeli territory, increasing regional tension. In this regard, as Axios reports, one of the main items on the agenda of Sullivan's trip to Saudi Arabia was efforts to deter Houthi attacks from Yemen against international commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
The Houthis, a Yemeni armed group, have attacked commercial ships with civilian crews in the Red Sea, saying they plan to target all ships heading to Israel “until the aggression against the Gaza Strip stops.”
— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) December 13, 2023
Deliberately attacking civilians is a war crime. pic.twitter.com/eAgYbAXYv5
Sullivan's visit comes shortly after US President Joe Biden signalled that he would like to resume post-war settlement talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel, talks that have been frustrated by the Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli operation in Gaza.
"Saudi Arabia wants to normalise relations (with Israel). We have an opportunity to begin to bring the region together and they still want to do that," Biden said, noting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must take some steps "to strengthen the Palestinian authority". "You can't say there will be no Palestinian state in the future," Biden added, according to Axios.
Disagreements between the US and Israel over the military operation in Gaza
After Saudi Arabia, Sullivan will land in Tel Aviv to meet with Netanyahu, the war cabinet, President Isaac Herzog and the country's top military leaders. Sullivan's trip to Israel coincides with the first public disagreements between Jerusalem and Washington over Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip. This week, just days before the visit, Biden said Israel is losing support for its "indiscriminate" bombardment of Gaza, indicating that Netanyahu should change his strategy.
The US National Security Advisor will conduct "extremely serious conversations" with senior Israeli officials during his stay in the country, said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who also announced that Sullivan will highlight "efforts to be more precise and reduce harm to civilians".
In a briefing today, @WhiteHouse National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby spoke about the steps Israel has taken to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) December 13, 2023
He referenced the map distributed by the IDF that alerts civilians as to which neighborhoods it is planning to… pic.twitter.com/P4gTA4fjNJ
Sullivan is also scheduled to address the release of hostages held by Hamas, including eight Americans. Although 105 hostages - 86 Israelis and 24 foreigners - were released during the week-long truce, there are still more than 130 hostages in Gaza, including dozens of women and several foreigners. In recent days, however, Israel has announced the deaths in captivity of several of the hostages based on intelligence and findings by Israeli troops in Gaza.
Joshua Loitu Mollel, a student from Tanzania, has been declared dead after being taken hostage by #Hamas in #Gaza-
— Jotam Confino (@mrconfino) December 14, 2023
Mollel was participating in an Agricultural Internship program in Israel and was kidnapped by Hamas along with 240 other people on October 7. pic.twitter.com/ha1YQDdalC
The hostages, Israelis and foreigners, were kidnapped on 7 October, during the Hamas invasion that left 1,200 dead. Meanwhile, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, more than 18,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 50,000 injured in the subsequent Israeli response.
