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US and Israeli officials hold virtual meeting on alternative to Rafah invasion
US President Joe Biden has urged Israel not to conduct a large-scale offensive in Rafah to avoid more civilian casualties among the Palestinian population in Gaza, where Palestinian health authorities say more than 32,000 people have been killed.
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Israeli forces open fire on crowd of Palestinians seeking aid,, as Gaza death toll surpasses 30,000
Israeli forces open fire on crowd of Palestinians seeking aid,, as Gaza death toll surpasses 30,000
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the United States has made its concerns known about any major ground operation in Rafah, the last relatively safe haven for more than 1 million displaced Palestinian civilians.
“If they are going to move forward with a military operation, we have to have this conversation,” Jean-Pierre said at a briefing earlier on Monday. “We have to understand how they’re going to move forward.”
She told reporters national security adviser Jake Sullivan was leading the discussions on the US side.
An Israeli official in Washington said Israeli participants included strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. They are the same confidants of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who had been expected to attend a Washington meeting last week that Netanyahu cancelled.
Will Israel defy US and go ahead with Rafah assault after UN ceasefire vote?
Will Israel defy US and go ahead with Rafah assault after UN ceasefire vote?
Netanyahu called off the planned visit to Washington last week after the US allowed passage of a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the United Nations on March 25, marking a new low in his relations with Biden in the six months of war.
Two days later Israel asked the White House to reschedule a high-level meeting on military plans for Rafah, officials said, in an apparent bid to ease tensions between the two allies.
The United States, concerned about a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, wants Israel to consider alternatives to a ground invasion.
Israel’s retaliation began after an October 7 attack in which Hamas militants breached the Israeli border to kill 1,200 people and take 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The offensive has decimated parts of the small coastal enclave, including hits on hospitals and infrastructure, and has created severe food shortages among the largely displaced population.