WASHINGTON, Feb 9 — The United States yesterday warned Israel that staging a military push into the southern Gaza city of Rafah without proper planning would run the risk of becoming a “disaster.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he ordered troops to “prepare to operate” in Rafah, after rejecting what he labelled Hamas’s “bizarre demands” in truce talks, and air strikes have been stepped up.
State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said Washington had “yet to see any evidence of serious planning for such an operation,” adding: “To conduct such an operation right now with no planning and little thought in an area” where one million people are sheltering “would be a disaster.”
Patel emphasised that any such military offensive was “not something we’d support”, noting that Rafah is a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid destined for Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a regional tour on Thursday without securing a pause in fighting. It was his fifth crisis tour of the Middle East since the war started.
Blinken conveyed Washington’s concerns to Netanyahu directly during their talks on Wednesday in Jerusalem, Patel said.
Publicly, the US secretary of state warned that any “military operation that Israel undertakes needs to put civilians first and foremost.” — AFP
