Israel will pursue its war against Hamas “until absolute victory”, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on December 14, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.Netanyahu said he spoke with Sullivan about regional threats, including Iranian proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen, securing the return of hostages held by Hamas militants, and the continuation of humanitarian aid for Gaza’s civilian population.The White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in Washington on Thursday that Sullivan spoke with official about possibly transitioning from high-intensity to “lower-intensity” military operations in Gaza, without elaborating on what ‘low-intensity’ military operations would look like.Washington has provided diplomatic cover for its longstanding ally but expressed increasing alarm, with President Joe Biden calling Israeli bombing “indiscriminate”.With the war’s consequences escalating fast, Netanyahu has so far brushed off appeals for a ceasefire and he thanked the United States for “blocking the attempts at the UN to stop the fighting” referring to the U.S. vote on Tuesday against the UN General Assembly demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire after it vetoed the Security Council last week.Israel launched its campaign in retaliation for a rampage by Hamas, the Iran-backed group that rules Gaza, whose fighters killed 1,200 Israelis and seized 240 hostages in a cross-border raid on Oct. 7.Since then, Israeli forces have besieged the coastal strip and laid much of it to waste, with nearly 19,000 people confirmed dead, according to Palestinian health officials, and thousands more feared buried under the rubble.