Pentagon chief says he discussed with Israel transition to ‘surgical operations’ in Gaza

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday he discussed with Israeli officials a transition to more targeted and “surgical operations” in Gaza, as the U.S. appears to be nudging its ally to begin a slowdown in the fighting against Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Austin, who met with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, along with the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said at a press conference the group discussed the “status of the campaign” and the objectives of the war during a Monday meeting in Tel Aviv.

“We also have some great thoughts about how to transition from high-intensity operations to lower intensity and more surgical operations,” Austin said of the U.S. perspective. “We had great discussions on all of those those issues.”

Gallant, who said last week that the war against Hamas could take “several months,” signaled that Israel was open to a new phase of the war that would slow down the fighting.

“The circumstances are changing, [so] you change your efforts and you do something different in a different phase,” Gallant said.

Still, the Israeli defense chief cautioned there is no “clock running” that would force Israel to wind down operations at a certain point of time.

“We will find the proper time to do so,” Gallant added.

Austin’s trip comes just days after White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan traveled to Israel, where he also discussed with Israeli officials ways to lower the intensity of the conflict in the near future.

While there is no established timeframe to wind down the intensity of the military campaign, the Biden administration has pushed to move toward targeted efforts as soon as early January, The New York Times reported.

The discussions have centered on Israeli forces conducting more surgical, targeted attacks that would reduce civilian casualties while allowing Israel to continue its effort to dismantle Hamas.

The next phase could see Israeli soldiers focusing on the leadership of Hamas, Gallant said Monday.

More than 19,000 people have died in Gaza since the war began in early October, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel is also facing renewed pressure to scale down the war effort after two deadly setbacks last week. Nine of its soldiers were killed in an ambush and three hostages held by Hamas were mistakenly killed by Israeli forces.

Austin said the U.S. will continue to stand by Israel, and Israeli officials will dictate when the war transitions to a new phase. But he said most wars tend to shift over time from higher-intensity phases to lower-intensity ones.

“As you transition from one phase to another, that doesn’t signal an end to the operation,” Austin said. “You’re being more precise, you’re more focused on a specific target set.”

“In any operation like this, any campaign, there will be phases,” he continued. “The most difficult part is as you shift from one phase to the next, making sure that you have everything accounted for and you get it right. That requires detailed planning and very thoughtful planning.”