US did not set deadline for Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza, official says

The United States said it plans to sell 14,000 tank shells to Israel as National Security Advisor Tzahi Hanegbi told Channel 12 on Saturday that the Biden administration has not set a deadline for the IDF to end its military campaign to oust Hamas from Gaza.

He spoke amid persistent media reports that the administration has demanded a January deadline to end the war.

“The Americans have not set a deadline and they rejected the contention that they did,” he said, amid persistent media reports that a January timetable had been set, particularly with an eye to the campaign for the White House which begins in earnest next month.

“They [the US] understand they are not in a position to tell the IDF how much time is needed to achieve its goals,” he said. “Achieving the goals cannot be measured in weeks or months; the IDF will reach any point it wants in Gaza.”

Hanegbi said that the military operation is based on an understanding that Israel went after Hamas almost 17 years too late and that had it gone after the terror group when it first seized control of Gaza, the price would not have been as high as it is now.

The price will go up if it waits longer, Hanegbi said, as he described a situation in which Israel has no option but to eliminate the terror group, including assassinating Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Similarly, he said, Israel has to eliminate the threat from Hezbollah in the North, otherwise the Israelis who were evacuated from the border communities won’t be able to return home.

“There are things that we cannot accept anymore,” he said.

“The situation in the North has to be changed,” the national security adviser said, adding that preferably this would be done through diplomacy and not a military campaign, but that Israel would not shy away from such action.

Politico editor: Blinken told Israel to end war by January

Politico published a commentary piece by its opinion editor James Dettmer on Friday, in which he claimed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had told Jerusalem it had to wrap up the Gaza war by January, when he visited Israel at the end of November.

According to the piece, Blinken responded to Israel’s assessment that the war could continue for months by saying: “You don’t have that much credit.”

A poll conducted among 5,203 people in the US by the Washington-based Pew Research Center conducted from November 27 to December 3 found that more than “a third of adults (35%) approve of the Biden administration’s response to the Israel-Hamas war, while 41% disapprove and 24% are not sure.” The poll has a margin of error of 1.8%.

Some 45% of Democrats, compared to 12% of Republicans, feel that “Israel was going too far in its military operation” against Hamas, the Pew Center said.

Democrats have been concerned that US President Joe Biden’s public support for Israel will harm his re-election chances as he seeks to secure a second term in the White House.

On Thursday, US Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer publicly stated that there was no deadline for the end of the Gaza war, and on Friday, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire.

The Biden administration on Saturday used emergency authority to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review, the Pentagon said.

The State Department on Friday used an Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth $106.5 million for immediate delivery to Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The shells are part of a bigger sale that was first reported by Reuters on Friday that the Biden administration is asking Congress to approve. The larger package, worth more than $500 million, includes 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks, regularly deployed in its offensive in Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians.

As the war intensified, how and where exactly the American weapons are used in the conflict has come under more scrutiny, even though US officials say there are no plans to put conditions on military aid to the Jewish state or to consider withholding some of it.

Rights advocates expressed concern over the sale, saying it doesn’t align with Washington’s effort to press Israel to minimize civilian casualties.

A State Department official said on Saturday that America continues to be clear with the Israeli government that it must comply with international humanitarian law and take every feasible step to avoid harm to civilians.

The proposed sale conveys US commitment to Israel’s security and it will bolster Israel’s defensive capabilities, the official said.

Blinken gave detailed justification to Congress that the tank shells must immediately be provided to Israel in the national security interests of the United States, according to the Pentagon statement.

The sale will be from US Army inventory and consist of 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank (MPAT) tank cartridges and related equipment.

“Israel will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense,” the Pentagon said, adding that there will be no adverse impact on US defense readiness as a result of the sale.

Israel’s Merkava tanks, which use 120mm shells, are also linked to incidents that involved the death of journalists.

Reuters contributed to this report.