US, Israel Divided Over ‘Unrealistic’ Rafah Plans

Tel Aviv has rejected Washington's assertion that an evacuation of Rafah could take several months

Significant differences emerged between Washington and Tel Aviv during a recent virtual meeting on Israel’s planned attack on Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, according to US and Israeli officials.

US representatives, led by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, expressed concerns over “unrealistic” Israeli plans to evacuate over one million besieged Palestinians in the city, three sources with knowledge of the meeting told Axios on 3 April, adding that “deep divides” were evident.

The virtual meeting was held on Monday, 1 April.

Israeli officials in the meeting presented “general ideas” for evacuating Rafah’s stranded population, with the US saying “it is an unrealistic estimate and told the Israelis they are underestimating the difficulty of the task,” the sources told Axios.

Washington’s representatives told Israeli officials that the humanitarian catastrophe that has unfolded in Gaza has negatively affected confidence in Israel’s ability to properly evacuate Rafah. Two of the sources said the US believes an evacuation could take up to four months, something that was rejected by Israel during the meeting.

Israeli officials reportedly disagreed that Gaza is facing severe famine, responding to Washington’s warnings on the unmatched food security crisis in the strip – a result of Tel Aviv’s continued blocking of sufficient amounts of aid from entering the enclave.

"It is clear to everybody that we will have to find a middle ground here," one source said.

Regarding military operations, Washington stressed an alternative approach to a full-scale invasion of the city, according to the sources. The alternative includes “isolating Rafah from the rest of the Gaza Strip, securing the Egypt–Gaza border, focusing on targeting senior Hamas commanders in the city and conducting intelligence-based raids.”

The virtual meeting on Rafah came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled an initial meeting in response to a US abstention on the UN Security Council’s 25 March resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

🔗Source: The Cradle

Related: 3/29 — US Takes Hands-on Approach to Mold Israel’s Rafah Operation

3/25 — Israel Cancels Rafah Talks in US Following UNSC Abstention

3/24 — Yesterday: Israeli Hostage Families Urge Joe Biden To Push Netanyahu To Agree Ceasefire

3/19 — Netanyahu Doubles Down On Plans To Invade Rafah In Response To US Objection

3/11 — Netanyahu Will Ignore Biden’s ‘Red Line’ Move Forward Attack Rafah

3/6 — Related: Leaked US Cable Acknowledges ‘Catastrophic’ Cost Of Israel’s Rafah Invasion

3/3 — 'No Military Solution' For Israel In Gaza Or Lebanon: Israeli Official

2/26 — Netanyahu Says Hostage Deal Will Only Delay Attack on Rafah

2/19 — US Proposes UN Security Council Oppose Rafah Assault, Back Temporary Gaza Ceasefire

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