Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday (Mar 22) that Israel risked further global isolation if it went ahead with plans for a ground assault on the Palestinian city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
Blinken met one-on-one with Netanyahu during a peace mission to the Middle East at a time of strain in relations over Israel’s assault in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
“We share Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas … though, a major military ground operation in Rafah is not the way to do it,” Blinken told reporters 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,” Blinken added.
“I also said that we have no way to defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and eliminating the rest of the battalions there. And I told him that I hope we will do it with the support of the US, but if we have to – we will do it alone,” he said in a video statement to reporters.
Israel says Rafah is the last bastion for Hamas militants, and that it has a plan to evacuate civilians before an attack. Washington says a ground assault would be a mistake and cause too much harm to those displaced there.
In the latest diplomatic duel at the UN Security Council, Russia and China vetoed a US-proposed resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an Israel-Hamas hostage deal.
