Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, asked by a reporter if Washington had set a deadline to the current phase of Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza, replied:

"This is Israel’s operation and I’m not here to dictate timelines or turn. Our support to Israel’s right to defend itself is ironclad."

Austin said he had had “great” discussions with Israeli counterparts about the status of Israel’s goals and objectives, as well as “how to reduce harm to civilians in the battle space”.

He said the US could “offer some insight” based on its own experience in fighting terrorist groups, and that it had some “great thoughts about how to transition from high-intensity operations to lower-intensity operations”.