The Washington Post quoted an American official as saying that there is no point in urging Israel to move to a less severe phase of the war on Gaza this month, and that Washington is now insisting on moving to the next phase of the war next February.

In contrast, the American newspaper quoted an Israeli official claiming that the military operation in Gaza is currently moving to a less intense phase of the war, and that the number of civilian casualties has decreased significantly, as he claimed.

The newspaper reported that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken "did not take kindly" to Israeli officials when he spoke to them during his visit in November and told them that they were losing moral ground in the current war.

It added that he assured them that they had to "reduce the number of civilian deaths and significantly increase humanitarian aid" during the attacks on the southern Gaza Strip.

But Israel did not adhere to its pledges to the United States - as an American official confirmed to the Washington Post - adding that Tel Aviv stressed in its conversation with Washington that it would continue its intensive attacks on the Gaza Strip throughout the month of January.

Unwilling

A situation that made the administration of President Joe Biden - the strongest ally supporting Israel - unable or unwilling to exercise greater influence on the management of the war on Gaza, according to the American newspaper.

The Washington Post quoted Matt Doss, executive vice president of the International Policy Center and former advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders, as saying, “If the president is really frustrated, he has a lot of tools he can use.”

"Promising unconditional support is not a good way to make someone do something different," he added.

Against the backdrop of Israeli accusations against the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) of exploiting international aid, the American official - whom the Washington Post spoke to - confirmed that the Israeli government did not provide any specific evidence that Hamas had stolen or diverted aid provided through the United Nations and its agencies.