Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected yesterday the request of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to abandon the ground attack on Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza where a large number of Palestinian civilians have taken refuge from the fighting.
Netanyahu said that if necessary, Israel will carry out the attack alone, without the support of the United States of America (USA).
Threats to attack Rafah cast a shadow over ongoing efforts to reach a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas, AP writes.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters yesterday at the end of his sixth visit to the Middle East since the beginning of the war, that “there is still a lot of work to be done.”
The State Department announced via its official account on the “X” network that there is a risk that more civilians will be killed in a major military operation in Rafah.
“There is a risk that this will create even more chaos with the delivery of humanitarian aid, and a risk of further isolating Israel in the world and jeopardizing its long-term safety and security,” the State Department said.
As stated, “ensuring the defeat of Hamas and the long-term security of Israel requires an integrated, humanitarian, military and political plan.”
In the UN Security Council yesterday, Russia and China vetoed the resolution proposed by the United States of America, which states that the immediate establishment of a sustainable ceasefire is necessary. Representatives of the two countries said the resolution was ambiguous and did not directly call for an end to the fighting, which much of the world is calling for. International aid officials say Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people lacks enough food and is at risk of starvation, particularly in the enclave’s north. More than a million people are currently in Rafah, where they fled due to the war in the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Ministry of Health announced that, according to the latest data, 32,070 people have been killed since the beginning of the war.
Blinken said a big part of his trip to the Middle East was to try to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas and increase the amount of humanitarian aid being delivered to Gaza. He said progress had been made but that “there is still a lot of work to be done” before an agreement could be reached.
Netanyahu said he conveyed to Blinken that a ground offensive was the only way to destroy Hamas.
“I told him that there is no way to defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and destroying the remaining battalions there. I told him that I hope we will do it with the support of the US, but if necessary, we will do it alone,” Netanyahu said.
Blinken previously said the US supports Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas, but believes there are alternatives to a ground invasion.
