Israel’s war may be scaled back by the U.S

Secretary of State of the United States to the Red Sea: Freedom of Navigation and Security in the Middle East, and Implications for Israel’s War with Hamas

The secretary will also travel to Bahrain, home of the U.S Navy’s Fifth Fleet, largely to discuss freedom of navigation and maritime security in the region. The United States is in discussions with its allies to expand a maritime task force to guard ships traveling through the Red Sea after several recent attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial vessels in what appears to be an escalating extension of Israel’s war with Hamas by Iranian-sponsored proxy forces.

Mr. Austin will visit the Pentagon’s major command center located at Al Udeid air base. Mr. Austin will meet with senior Qatari officials who played a significant role in facilitating the release of hostages.

Mr. Austin will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant to discuss in detail when and how Israeli forces will carry out a new phase that American officials envision would involve smaller groups of elite forces that would move in and out of population centers in Gaza, conducting more precise, intelligence-driven missions to find and kill Hamas leaders, rescue hostages and destroy tunnels, U.S. officials said.

Ten weeks after Hamas’s initial attack on Israel, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has climbed to nearly 20,000, according to local health officials, and international rights group warn the humanitarian crisis there is spiraling even further. And the peril faced by the people kidnapped by Hamas and other armed groups — there are believed to be at least 100 individuals still being held captive — was evident on Friday, when Israeli forces mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages.

During his visit to Israel, Mr. Austin will meet with Gen. Brown, who is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Mr. Austin, who used to be a four star head of Pentagon’s Central Command, wanted to share some of the lessons the American armed forces have learned in the past two decades since moving from large ground wars to more targeted operations.

While the secretary is expected to voice support for Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas, he will also make sure that the need to increase delivery of humanitarian assistance is emphasized, said a senior Pentagon official.