Israel is pushing for the Rafah offensive even without US approval – but is hoping for new weapons

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Palestinians search the rubble after an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp in Rafah: "We have no other choice"

Photo: Said Khatib / AFP

The relationship between Israel and the USA is becoming increasingly tense as the Gaza war continues. Now Israel would even risk a rift with its most important ally in order to carry out its planned military offensive in the city of Rafah, which is overcrowded with refugees. Nevertheless, the Israeli military continues to hope for new US weapons.

"If you leave four battalions (of the Islamist Hamas) in Rafah, you have lost the war, and Israel will not lose the war," said Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Thursday on the "Call Me Back" podcast American-Canadian columnist and political consultant Dan Senor. »With or without the United States, we will not do it. We have no other choice,” Dermer continued.

The USA wants to dissuade Israel from a ground offensive on Rafah on the border with Egypt. An Israeli delegation will travel to Washington next week at the request of the US government, including Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallan. At the meeting, Washington plans to present alternatives to a ground offensive, according to reports. However, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has, in his own words, "made it unequivocally clear" to US President Joe Biden that his government is determined to destroy the last remaining Rafah battalions. This is the only way to sustainably defeat and disempower Hamas.

»It will happen even if Israel is forced to fight alone. "Even if the whole world turns against Israel, including the United States, we will fight until the battle is won," said Dermer, who will reportedly be part of the delegation in Washington.

At the same time, according to a media report, Defense Secretary Gallant wants to come to Washington next week with a long wish list of US weapons. As the news portal Axios reported on Thursday, citing two Israeli and US officials, Israel wants to quickly receive these weapons from its ally. This is not just supplies for the war in the Gaza Strip, which has been going on for more than five months, but also long-term needs, including the purchase of additional F-35 and F-15 fighter jets. Israel wants to speed up the supply of these aircraft and other weapons systems from the USA, it said.

Galant will meet, among others, his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington. Both had spoken to each other on the phone on Wednesday.

US arms deliveries under criticism

Since the beginning of the Gaza war in response to the attack on Israel by terrorists from Hamas and other groups on October 7, the Israeli armed forces have become increasingly reliant on US weapons, Axios reported. This would be even more the case if the conflict with the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon were to escalate, it said. However, US arms deliveries to Israel are increasingly being questioned critically in the USA, reported “Axios”.

Galant recently committed itself in a letter to the US government to only use US weapons in accordance with international law.

In Rafah, it is estimated that 1.5 million of Gaza's 2.2 million residents are currently seeking shelter in a small area from the fighting in other parts of the coastal area. The border crossing with Egypt, through which aid deliveries reach Gaza, is also located in Rafah. The USA considers a ground offensive there to be wrong and fears devastating consequences.

Israel's ongoing fighting around the Shifa Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip is also being criticized internationally. On Thursday, the Israeli army said it had killed more than 140 Palestinian militants in its operations around the clinic. More than 350 others were arrested. Shifa Hospital is the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army launched a large-scale operation in the hospital on Monday morning, where patients and hospital staff as well as numerous people seeking protection are staying on the premises.

In view of the increasing number of civilian casualties and the threat of famine in parts of the embattled Gaza Strip, the USA is now increasing pressure on Israel. The UN Security Council is expected to vote on Friday on a US-sponsored draft resolution calling for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in the Gaza war, according to diplomats.

mrc/dpa