Hebrew media: Blinken informs Netanyahu of Washington’s opposition to a large military operation in Rafah

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Washington's current opposition to any large-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, while the latter stressed the rejection of any deal with Hamas that "ends the war."

Hebrew media said on Wednesday that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Washington's "current" opposition to any "widespread" Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

On Tuesday evening, Blinken began a visit to Tel Aviv from Jordan and Saudi Arabia, on his seventh tour in the region since the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority (official) reported that the US Secretary of State told Netanyahu during their meeting, “The United States currently opposes an Israeli army operation in Rafah on the border with Egypt.”

Claiming that it is "the last stronghold of the Hamas movement," Netanyahu insists on invading Rafah, despite international warnings of possible catastrophic repercussions, given the presence of about 1.4 million displaced people there.

The Israeli Walla news website also quoted an unnamed American official as saying, “Blinken told Netanyahu that the United States still opposes an Israeli army operation in Rafah without a credible plan to protect civilians.”

He added, "Blinken expressed his belief that there are better options for dealing with Hamas brigades in the city, other than a large-scale military operation."

Regarding the humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian Strip, which has been besieged for the past 18 years, Blinken said, “Although there has been an improvement in the delivery of aid to Gaza, Israel needs to make more efforts.”

As a result of the war and Israeli restrictions that violate international laws, the Gaza Strip, especially the Gaza and North governorates, is in the grips of a famine that has claimed the lives of Palestinians, with severe scarcity of food, water and medicine supplies.

In return, Netanyahu told Blinken that he “will not accept a deal (to exchange) hostages (with Hamas) that would end the war,” according to the broadcaster.

Israeli and American officials told the Walla website that Netanyahu threatened that “if Hamas does not abandon its demand to end the war, there will be no agreement and Rafah will be invaded.”

Hamas demands an end to the war, the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from the Gaza Strip, the freedom for the displaced to return to their areas, and the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid into the Strip, within any prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement.

During the visit, Blinken met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as well as Netanyahu, opposition leader Yair Lapid, and representatives of the families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza, and he will hold more meetings on Wednesday.

The Israeli war on Gaza left more than 112,000 martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid famine and massive destruction, according to Palestinian and UN data.

Israel continues the war despite the issuance of a resolution by the UN Security Council to stop the fighting immediately, and also despite the International Court of Justice demanding immediate measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.