Blinken: Israeli wide-scale attack in Rafah will not eradicate Hamas

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that a broad Israeli attack on Rafah would stir 'chaos' without eliminating the Hamas movement, noting that the number of civilians killed in the war exceeded the number of casualties among the Palestinian movement.

Similarly, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan expressed the same concerns during a Sunday call with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi, according to a statement from the White House.

The White House statement said that 'Sullivan reiterated President Joe Biden's concerns about the possibility of a major ground military operation in Rafah, where more than a million people have sought refuge.'

According to the US presidency, Hanegbi affirmed that Israel 'takes into account the concerns of the United States,' without going into details.

Israeli airstrikes in the eastern parts of Rafah have led to the displacement of 300,000 residents of Gaza.

The United States and other countries, as well as senior United Nations officials, have warned that a comprehensive attack on Rafah could have a disastrous impact on refugees who have fled there due to fighting in other areas of Gaza, with many of them living in desperate conditions.

AFP