Netanyahu warns Israel will invade Rafah if Hamas doesn't take hostage deal
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu privately warned Secretary of State Antony Blinken Wednesday that Israel will move forward with an invasion of Rafah if Hamas continues to condition a hostage deal on ending the war, two Israeli and U.S. officials said.
Why it matters: The Biden administration is deeply concerned about the possibility of an Israeli military invasion of Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip where more than one million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.
- Netanyahu has been threatening to invade Rafah for months, but has held off mostly as a result of U.S. pressure.
Behind the scenes: Blinken told Netanyahu during a meeting in Jerusalem that the U.S. still opposes an Israeli operation in Rafah without a credible plan for protecting civilians in the city, the U.S. and Israeli officials said.
- Blinken said the Biden administration thinks there are a better options to deal with the Hamas battalions that remain in Rafah besides a full-scale military operation.
State of play: One of Hamas' main demands in hostage negotiations is that the second phase of the deal will include an Israeli commitment to end the war in Gaza.
- Netanyahu told Blinken that Israel won't accept that condition, according to the Israeli officials.
- The Israeli proposal delivered to Hamas last week included a willingness to discuss "the restoration of sustainable calm" in Gaza — short of a full-fledged commitment for ending the war, but more than Israel has agreed to so far.
What they're saying: State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that Blinken and Netanyahu discussed efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal, and emphasized that it's Hamas who is standing in the way of a ceasefire.
- During the meeting, Blinken raised the improvement in the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza in recent weeks and reiterated the importance of accelerating and sustaining that improvement, Miller said.
- "He also discussed the need to avoid further expansion of the conflict and updated the Prime Minister on ongoing efforts to ensure a lasting, sustainable peace in the region. The Secretary reiterated the United States' clear position on Rafah," Miller said.
- A spokesman for Netanyahu said the prime minister told Blinken that the Israeli operation in Rafah is not conditioned on anything.
