Sullivan visited Saudi Arabia and Israel over the weekend, and Israel will not expand its operations until then

According to the AXIOS website, US National Security Adviser Sullivan plans to travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel this weekend as tensions escalate due to Israel's military operation in Rafah. At present, the White House continues to try to dissuade Israel from launching a wide-ranging military operation in the southern Gaza city, as it would cross President Biden's "red line" on not supplying arms to Israel. A senior US official said Tuesday that the Biden administration has reached an understanding with the Israeli government that any operation in Rafah will not be significantly expanded until Sullivan's visit. The White House wants to extend this commitment to a high-level face-to-face meeting between the US and Israeli delegations in Washington a few days after Sullivan's visit. Sullivan's trip is also a low-chance attempt to make progress towards a "grand bargain" between the United States and Saudi Arabia, which could include the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.