WASHINGTON (AP) Israel briefed Biden administration officials this week on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a possible operation in the southern Gaza town of Rafah to root out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials close to the talks.
The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive exchange, said the plan detailed by the Israelis did not change the U.S. administration’s view that continuing An operation in Rafah would put too many innocent Palestinian civilians in danger. in danger.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to carry out a military operation in Rafah despite warnings from President Joe Biden and other Western officials that it would lead to more civilian deaths and worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The Biden administration has said there could be consequences for Israel if it continues the operation without a credible plan to protect civilians.
Absent such a plan, we cannot support a major military operation in Rafah because the damage it would cause is beyond what is acceptable, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday at the Sedona Forum, an event in Arizona hosted by the McCain Institute.
Some 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge in the southern Gaza city as the territory has been ravaged by the war which began on October 7 after Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
The United Nations aid agency said Friday that hundreds of thousands of people face imminent risk of death if Israel continues its assault on Rafah. The border town is a key entry point for humanitarian aid and is filled with displaced Palestinians, many of whom live in densely populated tent camps.
The officials added that the evacuation plan presented by the Israelis was not finalized and that the two sides had agreed to continue discussing the issue.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday that no overall plan for a possible operation in Rafah had been revealed by the Israelis at the White House. The operation was, however, discussed in recent calls between Biden and Netanyahu as well as recent virtual discussions with senior Israeli and US national security officials.
We want to make sure that these conversations continue because it is important to protect these Palestinian lives, these innocent lives, Jean-Pierre said.
The revelation of Israel’s continued efforts to carry out an operation in Rafah came as CIA Director William Burns arrived Friday in Egypt, where negotiators are trying to seal a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas is studying the latest ceasefire and hostage release proposal put forward by American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators, who seek to prevent the Rafah operation.
They publicly pressed Hamas to accept the terms of the deal that would lead to an extended ceasefire and an exchange of Israeli hostages taken prisoner on October 7 and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Hamas announced that it would send a delegation to Cairo in the coming days to continue discussions on this offer, without specifying when.
Israel and its allies have sought to increase pressure on Hamas in the hostage negotiations. Signaling that Israel continues to move forward with its planning for an operation in Rafah could be a tactic to encourage militants to finalize the deal.
Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israeli forces would enter Rafah, which Israel says is Hamas’ last stronghold, whether or not a truce deal for the hostages is reached. His comments appeared intended to appease his ruling nationalist partners, and it was unclear whether they would have any influence on a possible deal with Hamas.
Blinken visited the region, including Israel, this week and called the latest proposal extraordinarily generous and said it was time to act now.
In Arizona on Friday, Blinken reiterated remarks he made earlier this week that the only thing standing in the way of the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas.
