US and Israel ‘discuss scaling back Gaza combat but say fight will take months’

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on residential buildings in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on Friday (Hatem Ali/AP)

The US and Israel have discussed a timetable for scaling back intense combat operations in the war against Hamas, even though they agree the overall fight will take months, an envoy has said.

It comes amid growing American unease about the mounting death toll in Gaza.