Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration that Israel intends to take control of all of the Gaza Strip signals an escalation that flies in the face of some emphatic international warnings.
But it is one that, at least so far, the US government has greeted with a telling and collective shrug.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said it was "pretty much up to Israel" whether to fully occupy Gaza. And when asked the following day whether he was giving Israel a "green light", he instead spoke about the US strikes on Iran earlier this year.
Washington's Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee was even more direct - and his answer was that Netanyahu's Gaza plan is not America's concern.
"It's not our job to tell them what they should or should not do," he said. "Certainly, if they ask for wisdom, counsel, advice, I'm sure the president would offer it. But ultimately, it's the decision that the Israelis and only the Israelis can make."
