Blinken reveals US stance on Israel’s invasion of Rafah — RT World News
The US Secretary of State said a major attack would have “serious consequences.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States believes that Israel can achieve its military goals in Gaza without invading the city of Rafah, which Washington will not support. This came during a press conference following the G7 foreign ministers' summit on the Italian island of Capri.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that his country would carry out a military operation in Rafah, despite concerns about the potential death toll among civilians. Members of the Israeli government, including Netanyahu, have maintained that the Jewish state cannot achieve its stated primary goal of defeating the Palestinian Hamas movement without entering Rafah.
“We believe that any major military operation with a large civilian population presence would have serious consequences for this population.” Blinken told reporters. “We have been very clear about this matter… We cannot support a major military operation in Rafah.” He said.
The United States, the main supplier of military aid to Israel, has expressed concerns that the operation in Rafah would lead to significant civilian casualties. Blinken noted that there are currently about 1.4 million people in the city, which is located next to the Egyptian border, many of whom have been displaced from other parts of Gaza.
“We are committed, like Israel, to ensuring that Hamas cannot take control of Gaza… to ensure that Hamas cannot repeat the events of October 7… but with regard to major military operations in Rafah, this is something we do not support and do not support.” We believe that the goal can be achieved by other means.” He mentioned blinking.
The diplomat insisted that the United States had engaged in discussions about Rafah with senior Israeli officials as recently as this week, and that such discussions would continue.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu recently said that a date had been set for the operation in Rafah, but he refused to reveal the exact date. The Israeli army announced on Sunday that two additional brigades will be mobilized for operations in Gaza. This announcement came a week after the Jewish state withdrew most of its ground forces from the Palestinian Strip, in what the military command described as preparation for a mission in the city of Rafah.
The ongoing hostilities in Gaza were sparked by a Hamas incursion into southern Israel in October, during which some 1,200 people were killed and hundreds were taken hostage. More than 33,000 Palestinians were killed amid Israeli retaliation, most of them women and children, according to local health authorities.
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