White House says it’s ‘right time’ for Israel to scale back Gaza war

White House National Security Council Press Secretary John Kirby said Sunday that it is “the right time” for Israel to wind down the Gaza war.

CBS' Margaret Brennan asks Kirby on “Face the Nation” whether the U.S. is pressuring Israel to move to lower-intensity fighting as the war marks its 100th day on Sunday. Asked. In recent days, Israel has withdrawn some military forces from the Gaza Strip under pressure from the United States and has indicated that they will be withdrawn on a rotating basis and the fighting will be reduced.

“Secretary Blinken, just coming from the region, I can tell you that we've been talking diligently with them about transitioning to low-intensity operations. We believe now is the right time to make that transition.” Kirby said Sunday. “And we're talking to them about doing that.”

“Right now they're taking some preliminary steps to get to that point. They're withdrawing some troops and they're a little less reliant on airstrikes,” he said. added.

Kirby said the “next logical step” in the war would be to move to lower-intensity operations, including “more precise raids” and “fewer airstrikes.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken had recently traveled to the region to discuss the war and the situation in Gaza with Israeli and other world leaders.

“We believe it's time to make that transition. And we've had those conversations with them,” Kirby said on CBS.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reports that more than 24,000 people have died in Gaza since the start of the war. The ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths. Additionally, about 85% of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been evacuated, according to the Associated Press.

The first Hamas attack in October last year that sparked the war killed about 1,200 Israelis and took about 240 hostages by the militants. A temporary ceasefire in November resulted in the release of more than 100 hostages, but no more have been released since then.