2024-05-14 00:50:59
On the other hand, the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, in a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart, Chahi Hanegbi, emphasized Washington’s concerns regarding the offensive.
” Sullivan reiterated [ASV] of the president [Džo] Biden’s long-standing concerns about the possible consequences of a large-scale ground military operation in Rafah, where more than a million people have taken refuge,” the White House said in a statement about the phone call.
Hanegbi “confirmed that Israel is taking US concerns into account,” the statement said, without elaborating on the subject.
Israel has already bombed eastern parts of Rafah, forcing 300,000 people to flee.
The US and other countries, including senior UN officials, have warned that a full-scale attack on Rafah could have devastating consequences for refugees who have fled fighting in other parts of the Gaza Strip, many of whom live in dire conditions.
Israel says it is trying to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.
Asked on CBS’ “Face the Nation” program whether the United States agrees with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that the Israeli army has killed more civilians than Hamas fighters since the beginning of the war, Blinken answered in the affirmative.
“A full-scale attack may have a ‘potentially very high price,’ but a large-scale attack on Rafah is unlikely to eliminate the threat to Hamas,” the US secretary of state said.
“Israel is on a trajectory to potentially inherit unrest with many armed Hamas fighters remaining, or if it leaves, it would inherit a vacuum filled by chaos, anarchy, and possibly re-filled by Hamas,” Blinken said. .
The United States is urging Israel to come up with a plan for the post-war Gaza Strip, the US secretary of state said, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “we’re talking to them about a much better way to have a viable outcome.”
The top US diplomat also drew attention to the fact that in some areas in the northern Gaza Strip, which Israel has liberated, Hamas fighters have already returned.
2024-05-14 00:50:59