Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, met with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
The two discussed the continuation of the fighting in Gaza, with emphasis on Rafah, the humanitarian assistance to the residents of the Gaza Strip, the contacts on the return of the hostages, and events in the northern sector.
Also participating in the meeting were Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Security Council Director Tzahi Hanegbi and US Presidential Envoy and National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk.
After the meeting, an inter-agency dialogue – led by Strategic Affairs Minister Dermer and National Security Council Director Hanegbi – was held with the American delegation led by US National Security Advisor Sullivan. The continuation of the war in Gaza, with emphasis on the activity in Rafah, and increasing the humanitarian effort in the Strip, were discussed at length.
Below is a Readout of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s Meetings in Saudi Arabia and Israel:
Today in Jerusalem, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, and convened a modified U.S.-Israel Strategic Consultative Group (SCG) meeting to discuss the war in Gaza, including ongoing diplomacy to secure the release of all the hostages and our shared objective for the enduring defeat of Hamas.
Mr. Sullivan arrived in Israel from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, where he held constructive meetings with the Crown Prince and Prime Minster of Saudi Arabia Mohamed bin Salman focused on a comprehensive vision for an integrated Middle East region. Mr. Sullivan briefed Prime Minister Netanyahu and his team on these meetings and the potential that may now be available for Israel, as well as the Palestinian people.
In Israel, during the modified SCG, Mr. Sullivan was briefed on Israeli military operations in Gaza, and the two sides discussed methods to ensure the defeat of Hamas while minimizing harm to civilians. Mr. Sullivan reiterated the President’s longstanding position on Rafah.
Mr. Sullivan proposed a series of concrete measures to ensure more aid surges into Gaza, including through all available crossings, and through the multinational humanitarian maritime corridor. Mr. Sullivan and his counterparts also discussed steps to build a more effective deconfliction mechanism to ensure humanitarian workers can safely deliver aid to those in need and establish fixed corridors inside Gaza to ensure aid is able to reach all those in need throughout Gaza.
Mr. Sullivan briefed on U.S. support for Israeli efforts to find and bring to justice Hamas’s leaders in Gaza, as well as discussions with Egypt to fully secure its border with Rafah and to secure the continued flow of humanitarian assistance through Kerem Shalom, even as talks proceed on reopening the Rafah crossing. Mr. Sullivan reaffirmed the need for Israel to connect its military operations to a political strategy that can ensure the lasting defeat of Hamas, the release of all the hostages, and a better future for Gaza.
