WASHINGTON – Israel this week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah aimed at rooting out Hamas militants, according to U.S. officials familiar with the negotiations.
The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive exchange of information, said the plan detailed by the Israelis did not change the U.S. administration’s view that moving forward with an operation in Rafah would put many innocent Palestinian civilians at risk. at risk.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to carry out a military operation in Rafah, despite warnings from President Joe Biden and other Western officials that it would result in more civilian deaths and worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The Biden administration has said there could be consequences for Israel if it moves forward with the operation without a credible plan to protect civilians.
“In the absence of such a plan, we cannot support a major military operation in Rafah because the damage it would cause is beyond acceptable,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday at the Sedona Forum, an event in Arizona hosted by the McCain Institute.
About 1.5 million Palestinians took shelter in the southern city of Gaza as the territory was devastated by the war that began on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
The United Nations aid agency said on Friday that hundreds of thousands of people would be “at imminent risk of death” if Israel goes ahead with the attack on Rafah. The border town is a critical entry point for humanitarian aid and is teeming with displaced Palestinians, many of them in densely populated camps.
Officials added that the evacuation plan reported by the Israelis has not been finalized and both sides agreed to continue discussing the matter.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday that no “comprehensive” plan for a potential Rafah operation had been revealed by the Israelis to the White House. The operation, however, was discussed during recent phone calls between Biden and Netanyahu, as well as during recent virtual talks with senior Israeli and American national security officials.
“We want to make sure that these conversations continue because it is important to protect Palestinian lives – these innocent lives,” Jean-Pierre said.
The revelation of Israel’s ongoing effort to carry out a Rafah operation came as CIA Director William Burns arrived Friday in Egypt, where negotiators are trying to seal a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas is considering the latest proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release presented by US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators, who seek to avoid Operation Rafah.
They publicly pressured Hamas to accept the terms of the agreement that would lead to a prolonged ceasefire and an exchange of Israeli hostages captured on October 7 and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Hamas said it would send a delegation to Cairo in the coming days for further discussions on the offer, although it did not specify when.
Israel and its allies have sought to increase pressure on Hamas in hostage negotiations. Signaling that Israel continues to move forward with its planning for an operation in Rafah could be a tactic to encourage the militants to finalize the deal.
Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israeli forces would enter Rafah, which Israel says is Hamas’ last stronghold, regardless of whether a hostage truce agreement is reached. His comments appeared aimed at appeasing his nationalist governing partners, and it was unclear whether they would have any bearing on any emerging deal with Hamas.
Blinken visited the region, including Israel, this week and called the latest proposal “extraordinarily generous” and said “the time to act is now.”
On Friday in Arizona, Blinken repeated remarks he made earlier this week that “the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas.”
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