Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pushed back at the White House’s objections to a major Rafah operation, during a meeting he held Monday with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
"We are committed to broadening the ground operation in Rafah to the end of dismantling Hamas and recovering the hostages," a statement from Gallant’s office quoted him as saying during the meeting.
Israel believes dozens of hostages of the remaining 128 hostages from the cross-border Hamas rampage on Oct. 7 are held in Rafah.
Western powers and Egypt have voiced concern for the fate of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians sheltering there, despite Israeli assurances about humanitarian safeguards.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA said on Monday that it estimated 810,000 people had fled Rafah since May 6 - potentially more than half of the city's wartime population.
Gallant showed Sullivan Israel’s plan to protect civilians and provide them with humanitarian services, including “significant efforts to evacuate the [remaining] civilian population in Rafah,” Gallant’s office said.
US-Israel defense cooperation
The two men spoke about the strong US-Israel defense cooperation and the importance of “projecting the strength of this relationship” particularly when it comes to their common enemies, such as Iran. They discussed the Islamic Republic, the morning after the helicopter crash in which the Iranian President and Foreign Minister were killed.
Israel has been fighting a two-front war since October 7 against two Iranian proxy groups, Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north.
Gallant emphasized that “Hezbollah’s continued aggression and refusal to achieve a diplomatic settlement risks the possibility of a significant escalation,” according to the office.
“Israel,” Gallant told Sullivan is committed to safely returning northern evacuees to their homes. Some 40,000 residents of the north have been unable to live in their homes, since October 7, due to the increase in cross-border violence.
Gallant also stressed to Sullivan the importance of ensuring that Israel maintains its strategic military edge.