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NEW DELHI: Israel and the United States on Monday will be holding a virtual meeting on the planned offensive in Gaza‘s Rafah, a week after Israel cancelled a delegation’s visit to Washington.
“The meeting is scheduled for today. It will be online. There may be a meeting in person later this week,” reported news agency AFP citing a source.
The meeting comes days after secretary of state Antony Blinken raised US opposition to a major ground operation in Rafah with Israel’s defense minister.
Before that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to send the delegation to Washington but called the meeting off after the United States abstained on a UN Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate ceasefire during Ramadan.
In his meeting with Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant in Washington, Blinken reiterated the US “opposition to a major ground operation in Rafah,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Miller had said that Blinken “underscored that alternatives exist to a major ground invasion that would both better ensure Israel’s security and protect Palestinian civilians”.
The two additionally “discussed the need to immediately surge and sustain additional humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza,” he added.
Israel criticised the US abstention, calling it a setback in their war efforts and hostage release attempts.
Israel’s military offensive against Hamas-governed Gaza has dislocated nearly its entire population, caused a starvation crisis, flattened most of the enclave, and killed over 31,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Extreme food shortages in parts of Gaza have exceeded famine levels, the global hunger monitor says.
However, Israel denies genocide charges and says it is acting in self-defense after the October 7 attack on Israel from Palestinian Islamist Hamas fighters that killed some 1,200.
(With agencies input)
“The meeting is scheduled for today. It will be online. There may be a meeting in person later this week,” reported news agency AFP citing a source.
The meeting comes days after secretary of state Antony Blinken raised US opposition to a major ground operation in Rafah with Israel’s defense minister.
Before that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to send the delegation to Washington but called the meeting off after the United States abstained on a UN Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate ceasefire during Ramadan.
In his meeting with Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant in Washington, Blinken reiterated the US “opposition to a major ground operation in Rafah,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Miller had said that Blinken “underscored that alternatives exist to a major ground invasion that would both better ensure Israel’s security and protect Palestinian civilians”.
The two additionally “discussed the need to immediately surge and sustain additional humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza,” he added.
Israel criticised the US abstention, calling it a setback in their war efforts and hostage release attempts.
Israel’s military offensive against Hamas-governed Gaza has dislocated nearly its entire population, caused a starvation crisis, flattened most of the enclave, and killed over 31,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Extreme food shortages in parts of Gaza have exceeded famine levels, the global hunger monitor says.
However, Israel denies genocide charges and says it is acting in self-defense after the October 7 attack on Israel from Palestinian Islamist Hamas fighters that killed some 1,200.
(With agencies input)
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