US and Israel officials hold high stakes virtual meeting on Rafah operation
CNN
Senior officials from the United States and Israel are holding a virtual meeting on Monday to discuss alternatives to a full-scale invasion Rafah as the Biden administration seeks to dissuade the Israeli government from undertaking a significant military operation in the beleaguered Gazan city.
Senior officials from the United States and Israel are holding a virtual meeting on Monday to discuss alternatives to a full-scale invasion Rafah as the Biden administration seeks to dissuade the Israeli government from undertaking a significant military operation in the beleaguered Gazan city. Prior to the meeting commencing, a US official said Biden administration representatives would be focused on stressing “alternative ways” they believe Israel can achieve its goal of dismantling Hamas, without launching an full-scale incursion into Rafah, where more than one million hungry Palestinians are sheltering with nowhere to run. Monday’s meeting is scheduled to last two hours, an Israeli official told CNN. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security advisor Jake Sullivan are among the high-level US representatives, while the national security advisor for Israel, Tzachi Hanegbi and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer were expected to lead the Israeli delegation. The Israeli official said that representatives from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and other Israeli security services were slated to attend. A meeting previously scheduled for last week was called off by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the United States declined to block a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held captive by Hamas - signs of the ever-simmering tension between Israel and its most powerful ally. Both sides are still working toward an in-person meeting at some point in the future, an official said. Pentagon officials shared some of their alternatives for Rafah with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant when he was in town last week.
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