Netanyahu to approve Rafah evacuation plan, Blinken to visit Friday

• Published date: 20 March 2024
• Author: TOVAH LAZAROFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"I have already approved the IDF's operational plan, and soon we will also approve the plan to evacuate the civilian population from the battle zones," Netanyahu said on Wednesday

In Washington, US State Department Deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel expressed the Biden administration's opposition to a Rafah operation, which it fears will deepen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

"We have been very clear that … any kind of operation in Rafah … would require a serious and significant plan, one that addresses the varying and complex humanitarian challenges posed in the Rafah region."

"We believe that Hamas can be defeated, but it must be done in a targeted and more precise manner, and hopefully it does not impact or have any negative impact on Palestinian civilians," Patel said.

Israeli delegation set to discuss Rafah plans in Washington

An Israeli delegation led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzahi Hanegbi is expected to visit Washington next week to discuss Israeli military plans for Rafah, which is the last Hamas stronghold.

US President Joe Biden had asked Netanyahu to send such a delegation when the two men spoke earlier this week

Netanyahu has said that without a Rafah operation, Israel won't be able to defeat Hamas.

The Biden administration has insisted that Hamas can be destroyed with more targeted plans and wants to lay out those options for the Dermer Hanegbi delegation next week.

US Secretary of State Lloyd Austin has separately asked Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to speak with him and other defense officials at the Pentagon.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu continued to make a public case about the importance of a Rafah operation.

In a public statement, he said that from the outset, "I told the President… It is impossible to complete the victory without the IDF entering Rafah to eliminate the remnants of Hamas's battalions."

He explained that the IDF had executed several other operations in Gaza before tackling Rafah, noting that it "will take a little time" before that military campaign begins.

In the interim, "we are continuing to operate with full force. We are continuing to operate in Khan Yunis, in the camps in the center, in eliminating and capturing senior Hamas officials," Netanyahu said.

He also delivered a virtual address to US Republican senators in Washington during a party luncheon. He spoke via video link nearly a week after the Senate's Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, gave a speech in the...