Blinken, White House advisor to meet Israeli officials over Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's top advisors will meet White House advisor Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Washington on Thursday amid tensions between the two allies over Israel's war in Gaza, officials said.

Israeli national security advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Ron Dermer, Israel's minister for strategic affairs, will speak with Sullivan as a larger, more formal "strategic dialogue" meeting was being rescheduled, according to a White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Blinken will meet with the Israelis at 3 PM, according to a senior State Department official.

The White House official said the wider meeting has not been canceled but that details were being finalized.

"In the meantime, meetings with Israeli officials are being held throughout the week at expert and senior levels on a range of topics," the official said.

Netanyahu on Tuesday issued an English-language video in which he said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had assured him that the Biden administration was working to lift restrictions on arms deliveries to Israel, an exchange the top US diplomat declined to confirm.


Reuters