WNAM MONITORING: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday that Israel risked further global isolation if it attacks 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, which has killed 32,000 Palestinians, with many more feared dead under the rubble, Gaza health authorities say.
“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.
Netanyahu said earlier that Israel would go it alone if Washington remained opposed to plans to push into Rafah against the territory’s southern border fence, where more than a million Gazans have taken refuge in makeshift shelters.
The Israeli leader said he told Blinken that he appreciated US support in its fight against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, and that Israel recognizes it needs to protect civilians.
“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.
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