Blinken Reportedly Tells Gallant US Still Opposed to Rafah Invasion

The city in southern Gaza is the last shelter of over 1.4 million displaced civilians.

In his meeting with Gallant, in Washington, Blinken reiterated US "opposition to a major ground operation in Rafah," according to the US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

According to Miller, Blinken told Gallant that a operation in Rafah, “would further jeopardize the welfare of the more than 1.4 million Palestinian civilians sheltering there.” 

The spokesperson also said that the two officials additionally "discussed the need to immediately surge and sustain additional humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza." 

Netanyahu’s determination to launch a ground operation in Rafah, the city on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, has become a key point of contention with Washington. 

Blinken “underscored that alternatives exist to a major ground invasion that would both better ensure Israel’s security and protect Palestinian civilians,” Miller says.

Gaps have been widening between the two allies over Gaza war as Washington wants a less severe approach in war but Netanyahu insists on pressing ahead with his killing spree in Gaza. 

Netanyahu on Monday canceled an expected visit of an Israeli delegation to Washington after the US avoided vetoing a UN Security Council’s resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. 

"In light of the change in the American position, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided the delegation would not leave," a statement from his office revealed.

The statement added that Washington's failure to veto the idea was a "clear retreat" from its earlier position and would jeopardize the war on Gaza and the "efforts to release over 130 captives."

The US is "very disappointed" by the cancellation of an Israeli delegation's scheduled visit to discuss concerns about a possible attack on Rafah, the White House announced. 

The US pressures on the Israeli regime come amid mounting pressures on Biden to press Tel Aviv to end the war, now in its sixth month, that has killed over 32,000 Palestinian civilians and caused famine in the coastal enclave as Israeli implements a systematic starvation policy.