While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to stick to a plan to invade the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, preparations are underway for U.S.-Israeli talks on the subject. CNN has revealed that high-level discussions between U.S. and Israeli officials regarding a potential military operation in Rafah could take place in Washington as early as this coming Monday. American officials noted that the Israeli delegation proposed to reschedule the talks for that day. The White House has expressed support for the rescheduling and is working with its Israeli counterparts to do so in a timely manner.
This comes after Netanyahu canceled talks that were scheduled for this week in Washington following the U.S. decision not to use its veto to block a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan and the release of all prisoners. However, he later reconsidered after realizing the mistake in his decision to cancel the delegation's visit to Washington, according to the newspaper Yediot Aharonot.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has been attempting for weeks to dissuade Israel from a ground incursion into Rafah, recently urging it to consider alternative plans which may include a limited incursion into certain areas, provided that safe havens for displaced civilians are secured. Netanyahu has asserted that he will proceed with this operation regardless of Washington's approval.
It is noteworthy that the Security Council approved a resolution on Monday calling for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, with the United States abstaining from voting after previously blocking attempts to issue a resolution through the veto. The U.S. did not veto the resolution and abstained from voting, making it the first ceasefire resolution adopted by the council after four previous failures.
