Israeli army steps up attacks across Gaza as top US official visits Israel

Al Jazeera:

The Israeli army has stepped up attacks across Gaza, killing dozens of Palestinians in the central part of the besieged enclave, as US national security adviser Jake Sullivan travelled to Israel to hold talks with senior officials.

Sullivan was expected to press Israeli leaders on Sunday to take a more targeted approach in the country’s Gaza offensive and avoid a wider-scale assault on the southern city of Rafah.

He met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to move forward with the Rafah offensive despite concerns from the United States.

The top US official “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”, the White House said in a readout of the discussions.

Nearly 800,000 Palestinians have been displaced from Rafah since Israel launched an assault on the city last week, according to the United Nations, prompting condemnations from UN officials as well as human rights groups.

The Israeli government maintains that a military operation there is necessary to destroy the last bastion of the Palestinian group Hamas.