Israeli occupation soldiers at a site on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip (French-Archive)
The White House said that Israel agreed to take American concerns into account regarding the attack it threatens to launch on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, during a meeting held via video yesterday, Monday.
The White House stated that the American side expressed during the high-level meeting its concern about “the various courses of action in Rafah,” and indicated that officials from both sides agreed to hold further discussions at the expert level in a meeting to be held early next week.
A meeting was held on Monday via videoconference with the participation of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as part of the “Strategic Advisory Working Group” with their Israeli counterparts.
The White House said that the two sides held "constructive" discussions regarding Rafah, and agreed on the goal of defeating Hamas.
The United States is the largest supporter of Israel in its war on the Gaza Strip, which has been ongoing for about 6 months, as it established an air and sea bridge to supply it with thousands of tons of weapons and ammunition.
But the American administration called on Israel to refrain from invading Rafah until a plan is developed to evacuate civilians who were displaced to the city from various parts of the Gaza Strip to escape the war, and their number is estimated at about 1.4 million.
Israel had agreed to send a delegation to Washington to discuss the plan to attack Rafah, but it canceled the visit due to the United States’ refusal to use its veto in the Security Council against a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The United States abstained from voting after delaying the adoption of resolutions calling for a ceasefire three times.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies