The meeting provided an opportunity to talk about steps to improve the humanitarian situation in war-torn Gaza and minimize harm to civilians, according to the official, who did not wish to be named.
It was also meant as a chance to speak on "the transition to a different phase of the war to maximize focus on high-value Hamas targets," the official said, referring to the Palestinian militant group.
The discussion comes after the UN Security Council agreed last week to a watered-down resolution calling for aid to be delivered to the Gaza Strip "at scale."
Gaza's 2.4 million people are suffering dire shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine, with only limited aid entering.
The bloodiest-ever Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 and killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
They took 250 hostages of whom 129 remain inside Gaza. The effort to bring these home was also among the topics on the table at the Sullivan-Dermer meeting.
After the Hamas attack, Israel launched an extensive aerial bombardment and a siege followed by a ground invasion. The campaign has killed 20,915 people, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.
The Tuesday meeting additionally provided a chance for Israel and the United States to talk about the eventual "governance and security in Gaza, a political horizon for the Palestinian people, and continued work on normalization and integration," the White House official said.
Latest developments in Israel-Hamas war
Jerusalem (AFP) Dec 26, 2023 -
The Israel-Hamas war saw regional tensions spike on Tuesday, with explosions reported off the coasts of Egypt and Yemen, deadly US military action in Iraq and strikes from Lebanon.
Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel from Gaza on October 7, killing about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants seized about 250 hostages, of whom 105 Israelis and foreigners have been released. Several others have been killed, including by friendly fire.
Determined to destroy Hamas, Israel is conducting a relentless air and ground offensive that has left vast areas of Gaza in ruins and killed at least 20,915 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
On day 81 of the war, here are five key developments from the past 24 hours:
- UN appoints coordinator -
The United Nations named an outgoing Dutch finance minister as its humanitarian coordinator for Gaza following last week's watered-down Security Council resolution which called for aid to be delivered to the coastal territory "at scale".
Sigrid Kaag's appointment comes as the people of Gaza face a dire humanitarian emergency, with aid slowed to a trickle by Israel's continued bombardment of the densely populated strip.
She will start work on January 8, the UN said in a statement.
- Fresh bombing -
Global pressure for a ceasefire has mounted but Israel pressed on with its war on Hamas.
The army said it had struck more than 100 targets in 24 hours, including Hamas military sites, tunnel shafts and other infrastructure, in Jabalia, northern Gaza, and Khan Yunis in the south.
The health ministry in Gaza said the bodies of 30 people killed in strikes were brought to Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis.
- West Bank violence -
Two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army raid on the Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Israel's army said its troops were attacked during a "counter-terrorism" operation.
- Yemen, Sinai, Lebanon -
US military forces shot down more than a dozen attack drones and several missiles fired by Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels at shipping in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said.
The Huthis earlier said they "carried out a targeting operation against a commercial ship" they identified as MSC United, and launched a number of "drones against military targets" in southern Israel.
Explosions were heard off the coast of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, state-linked media said, with the Israeli military later saying it had intercepted an "aerial target".
The military also said an anti-tank missile fired by Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group wounded nine soldiers, while Hezbollah announced the death of two of its fighters.
- Deadly strikes in Iraq -
US strikes targeting pro-Iranian forces in Iraq killed one member of the security forces and wounded 18 other people, Iraq's government said.
The US carried out the strikes after it said three American military personnel were wounded, one critically, in an attack on Monday.
The United States has repeatedly targeted sites used by Iran and its proxy forces in Iraq and Syria in response to dozens of attacks on American and allied forces in the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
Most of the attacks have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which opposes US support for Israel.
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