Israel to take US "concerns" about Rafah operation “into account" White House says

Senior US officials reiterated their concerns about an Israel ground operation into Rafah during a meeting between the two countries on April 18.

Israeli leaders argue they have to carry out full-scale military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to defeat the four Hamas battalions that remain intact, but it’s also where more than a million Palestinians have fled during the course of the war. The United States does not support such operations without Israel accounting for the significant civilian population in the city, and Israel has yet to detail publicly how it plans to ensure their safety, Washington Examiner reports.

Thursday’s conversation was the latest in a series of meetings between Israeli and US officials in which they discuss Rafah and what the US believes are alternatives to Israel’s plans.

“The two sides agreed on the shared objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah,” a White House readout said. “US participants expressed concerns with various courses of action in Rafah, and Israeli participants agreed to take these concerns into account and to have further follow up discussions between experts, overseen by the [US-Israel Strategic Consultative Group]. Participants will meet again soon.”

The meeting’s participants from the US included President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan; Melissa Dalton, who is performing the duties of deputy undersecretary of defense for policy; Daniel Shapiro, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle East policy; and Maj. Gen. Joseph McGee, the Joint Chiefs of Staff vice director for strategy, plans, and policy, among others. The Israeli side was led by Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi.

“Even if people are largely out of harm’s way, inevitably there’s going to remain a pretty significant civilian population in Rafah,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday. “And we believe that a major military operation with a large presence in the civilian population would have terrible consequences for that population.”

The US believes Israel can accomplish its goals against Hamas in Rafah with more targeted and precise operations that would likely be safer for civilians.

“Making sure that Hamas cannot repeat the events of October 7, that’s something that we are united,” he added. “But in terms of major military operations in Rafah, it’s something that we don’t support, and we believe that the objective can be achieved by other means.”

Former US Defence Secretary Mark Esper told the Washington Examiner that Israel’s objective of destroying Hamas means “take out Hamas leadership,” including Yahya Sinwar, “rendering combat ineffective those remaining four Hamas battalions,” and destroying “the underground infrastructure that enables them.” But, he added, “they have to do a whole lot better in terms of reducing collateral damage.”

Israel has delayed full-scale operations in Gaza for several weeks as the US pushes for detailed plans for what it intends to do in Rafah. Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas also took a back seat in the last week amid concerns that Iran could, and ultimately did, respond to an Israeli attack against an Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Syria, that left multiple senior military officials dead.

Iran’s response included the firing of more than 300 drones and missiles, nearly all of which were intercepted by Israel’s air defenses and a coalition of allies who helped. It was the first time Iran has launched an attack against Israel from within its own borders in decades, and it threatened to bring its covert military subversion operations into the spotlight and to the brink of war.

“The discussion began in a small group format to discuss the Iran attack and the collective efforts to further enhance Israel’s defense through advanced capabilities as well as cooperation with a broad coalition of military partners,” the White House readout continued. “Mr. Sullivan also briefed the Israeli side on new sanctions and other measures that began today, in coordination with Congress and G7 capitals, following on the President’s call with G7 leaders held the morning after Iran’s attack.”

Israel retaliated with a strike early Friday morning, a limited response that proved it could hit targets within Iran’s borders.