(NewsNation) — Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, a top ally of the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will be at the White House and a State Department meeting Tuesday, a National Security Council spokesperson confirmed to NewsNation.
NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said Dermer is set to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Meetings will focus on “consultations on a number of matters related to the conflict in Gaza and the return of hostages held by Hamas,” Watson said.
An Israeli official told Axios, meanwhile, that Dermer is expected to discuss plans for a “low-intensity phase” in the Israel-Hamas war.
U.S. officials have called for fewer civilian casualties in Gaza as international pressure grows for a cease-fire.
Israel’s offensive is one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history, according to the Associated Press. More than 20,900 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, have been killed, the AP reports using numbers from the Health Ministry in Gaza. Most — 85% — of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been driven from their homes.
Around 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, when the militant group also took 240 hostages. Some of these hostages have since been released.
Humanitarian conditions continue to get worse in Gaza, according to the United Nations, which says that a quarter of its population is starving under Israel’s siege.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.