Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting State Secretary Antony Blinken on Friday that Israel could launch a ground offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city Rafah “alone” without U.S. backing.
Mr. Blinken met with the Israeli leader in Tel Aviv on March 22 and urged Israel not to invade Rafah, saying that such an action “risks wreaking greater havoc.”
“As we’ve said, though, a major military ground operation in Rafah is not the way to do it,” Mr. Blinken said at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
“It risks killing more civilians, it risks wreaking greater havoc with the provision of humanitarian assistance, it risks further isolating Israel around the world and jeopardizing its long-term security and standing.”
The State Department said that Mr. Blinken also discussed with Mr. Netanyahu efforts to reach a deal for a six-week ceasefire that would secure the release of hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
However, Mr. Netanyahu stated on X that he had conveyed to Mr. Blinken during the meeting that there was no way to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah and eliminating the remnant of the battalions there.
“I told him that I hope we would do this with U.S. support but if necessary—we will do it alone,” the Israeli leader stated.
“I also told him that we recognize the need to evacuate the civilian population from the combat zones and—of course—also see to the humanitarian needs, and we are working to this end,” he added.
The Biden administration has been urging Israel to refrain from launching a major offensive in Rafah until a plan for the mass evacuation of civilians from the last area of Gaza is created. More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are sheltering in the Rafah area.
The United States has submitted a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages, but the resolution was vetoed by China and Russia.
The vote in the 15-member council was 11 members in favor and three against, including Algeria, the Arab representative on the council. There was one abstention, from Guyana.
Explaining his veto decision on Friday, Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said this latest U.S.-backed ceasefire resolution does not explicitly order a ceasefire, but merely states that such a ceasefire is “imperative.” Mr. Nebenzia said this language is “not enough” and the council must “demand a ceasefire.”
According to a U.N. summary, the U.S. resolution “makes imperative an immediate and sustained ceasefire,” says Israel and all other armed groups in the conflict must comply with international law and protect humanitarian workers, and calls for expanded humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
The U.N. summary states the resolution also directly condemns “all acts of terrorism including the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October, the taking and killing of hostages, murder of civilians, sexual violence and condemns the use of civilian buildings for military purposes.”
Additionally, the U.S.-backed resolution demands the Hamas terrorist group allow humanitarian organizations access to all remaining hostages it’s holding in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas fighters killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel that triggered the war and abducted another 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 134 people hostage.
In Gaza, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry raised the death toll in the territory Thursday to nearly 32,000 people. The agency does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Ryan Morgan and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
