Blinken warns Israeli Defense Minister of the dangers of invading Rafah

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a meeting in Washington on Monday of the risks of invading Rafah, reiterating the United States' rejection of such a wide-scale military operation.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that Blinken "reiterated the United States' support for ensuring the defeat of Hamas, including in Rafah, but he reiterated his opposition to a broad-based ground and air operation in Rafah."

He added that the US Secretary of State "emphasized the existence of other solutions besides a broad-based ground invasion, solutions that would better ensure Israel's security and protect Palestinian civilians."

Blinken and Gallant met at the State Department headquarters in Washington on Monday, hours after Israel canceled a planned visit by a high-level delegation to the US capital.

Before the two ministers' meeting, Miller told reporters, "I am confident that we will find other ways to express our concerns."

He continued, "We see that this kind of wide-scale invasion would be a mistake, not only because of the damage it could cause to civilians, which could be enormous."

He pointed out that there are about 1.4 million people in Rafah currently, and Israel has not provided a consistent evacuation plan.

In addition to all of this, Miller said, "This kind of invasion would weaken Israel's security and make it less secure, not more secure. It would undermine its standing in the world."

AFP