US advisor Jake Sullivan in Israel for ceasefire talks – BBC News

US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser is holding talks in Israel as part of a new push to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday afternoon.

His visit comes as Israeli forces continue military operations in Gaza, including in the southernmost city of Rafah.

Hundreds of thousands of people have evacuated the city following an order from Israeli forces.

Mr Sullivan is expected to push Israel to avoid a full-scale assault on the city of Rafah. The US has previously said that it would stop supplying some weapons if Israel launches a major ground offensive on the city.

However an Israeli official told Reuters news agency that Mr Netanyahu and his senior aides would try to reach an agreement with Mr Sullivan that a push into Rafah was needed.

On Sunday, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza said at least 20 people were killed and several wounded in a missile strike on Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Israel’s army said it was checking the reports, and added that two soldiers were killed fighting in the south on Saturday.

Discussions have taken place in the past over a potential ceasefire to little avail.

Earlier this month, Hamas backed a proposal put forward by Egyptian and Qatari mediators. But Israel said the proposal agreed by Hamas was not the same one it had already accepted.

Israel also rejected a proposal for a “permanent” ceasefire and said releasing bodies, rather than hostages was not acceptable.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s attack on southern Israel last year, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 252 others were taken hostage.

More than 35,456 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.