Rafah offensive plan: Israel promises to ‘take into account’ American concerns

The US was heard. White House officials who spoke remotely with their American counterparts on Monday “agreed to take into account” American concerns about Israel’s planned offensive on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, the White House said.

During the two-hour conversation, the United States, according to a press release from the American leader, “expressed concerns about several plans for action in Rafah,” a city in the southern Gaza Strip that is home to 1.5 million Palestinians, most of them displaced. Israel’s announcement of an upcoming offensive on the city, where it believes Hamas members are hiding, has caused great international concern.

The US opposed the offensive

The United States, Israel’s main ally, opposes any large-scale ground offensive in Rafah. President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to send a delegation to Washington to consult on Israel’s plans. This included “understanding their plans for any type of operation in Rafah, understanding how they were going to move or conduct operations with a very dense population of over a million people,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh explained upstream. , journalists. Another official said US diplomatic chief Antony Blinken would take part in the discussions.

Israel decided not to send a delegation to Washington as planned to discuss its Rafah offensive plan after the United States abstained at the UN on March 25, allowing for the first time a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate “ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip could be passed after more than five months after the start of the Israeli offensive. Two days later, the Israelis finally announced that they were ready to participate.