Democracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion The U.S. assembles the pieces of a possible Gaza war endgame

The elements that could bring an end to the brutal conflict are all there — on paper.

By
Columnist|
May 20, 2024 at 8:02 p.m. EDT
National security adviser Jake Sullivan at the White House on May 13. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
6 min

Tell me how this war ends. From the beginning, that has been the agonizing question with the Gaza conflict. After seven horrific months, a resolution is still some way off. But some clarity is emerging about the shape of a possible endgame.

The parameters of an eventual conclusion to the war became more evident after a trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel this past weekend by national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his deputy for the Middle East, Brett McGurk. The conversations they had there were outlined to me by knowledgeable sources.