Hello from CNN I'm Joe Beck with the five things you need to know for Friday

December 15th. The US is urging Israel to be more strategic with its attacks on

Hamas and protect civilians in Gaza.

The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza says more than 18,000 people have been

killed there in less than three months.

Yesterday President Joe Biden called for Israeli forces to be more careful with its strikes

and more focused on saving civilian lives, potentially widening an existing rift between him and Israel's

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says the White House's stance hasn't changed.

Our position from the very first day of this conflict has been that Israel has the right

to go after Hamas in these difficult circumstances and also has the responsibility to do so in a way that

comports with our values. Sullivan says he had a productive discussion with Israeli leaders

yesterday about the war entering a new phase with attacks that are more strategic

and targeted to reduce civilian deaths, but the US wants to see results.

This comes as Israeli forces say they've recovered the bodies of two soldiers who were abducted during the Hamas terror attack on October 7th.

As a Ukraine aid package continues to stall in Congress, there are already fears over the consequences of its delay.

Multiple US and European officials warn CNN of the potentially debilitating impact of the political deadlock on Ukraine's defense and longer-term

prospects of losing the war. Ukrainian forces have so far struggled to make significant progress

in their counter-offensive, despite significant U.S. and European

aid. Now Western intelligence agencies are calculating how long Ukraine could hold out by itself.

A senior US military official told CNN it could be just months,

with a worst-case scenario of a significant setback or even defeat by the summer.

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