Israel’s security will be harmed by a military operation in Rafah that would further isolate it on the international stage, the Biden administration told its counterparts in Jerusalem during a virtual conversation on Monday.
“The case that we are making about Rafah: It’s not just about the interests of the Palestinian people, it’s also about Israel’s long-term security interest,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington.
He spoke as US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held virtual talks with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi about the pending Rafah operation.
At issue for the US and the international community has been the over 1.3 million civilians in Rafah, many of whom fled there to escape bombing in the north at the start of the war. Israel has insisted that it must conduct a major military operation in the area of that southern city by the Egyptian border to fully defeat Hamas. The US has insisted that the IDF could achieve the same results through targeted strikes.
Pushing forward for Rafah operations
Miller discussed the messaging that was presented to Israel with reporters, explaining that the Gaza war has taken a toll on “Israel’s standing in the world and its ability to influence countries around the world.
“We think that a full-scale invasion of Rafah would only further that impact on Israel’s standing.
“We’re going to make that case to them. Ultimately, they’re a sovereign country, and they’ll make their own decisions. But we will lay out to them the way we see it,” he stated.
It’s not enough for Israel to clear out certain neighborhoods or hospitals of Hamas without a long-term, sustainable security and political strategy, the State Department said on Monday, referencing Israel’s weeks-long operation at the Shifa Hospital.
The US has not seen such a plan from Israel, spokesman Miller said, who had been in the meeting with Dermer and Hanegbi, but who left in the middle to brief reporters.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in Washington that the virtual talks followed those held with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Washington last week.
“The meeting is happening virtually because we understand... how important it is to have this conversation.”
The US has been “very clear about our concerns about a military operation into Rafah,” Jean-Pierre said.
There are “alternative ways of doing this,” she stressed.
Dermer and Hanegbi had been scheduled to visit Washington last week to hold talks on Rafah, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled that trip to protest the US’s failure to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza.
The virtual conversation was instead of a Washington visit.
Jean-Pierre and Miller both defended Israel’s military operation against Hamas fighters at Shifa, which wrapped up on Monday.
It marked the second time since the start of the war that the IDF has cleared Shifa Hospital of terrorists.
The State Department wants to see hospitals be protected sites, but Miller said it’s concerning that Hamas fighters infiltrated Shifa again after the IDF’s earlier operation there.
“You shouldn’t have to clear Hamas from a hospital once, let alone twice,” Miller said. “But, yes, we do have the concern that Hamas has been able to reestablish itself in a hospital that Israel had already cleared, and that points to an ongoing challenge for Israel in the way it conducts its operations.”
The State Department said it can’t independently confirm the number of Hamas fighters or civilians killed during the Shifa operation.
The White House said Hamas also needs to be called out for operating out of hospitals and embedding themselves in the civilian population.
After the Hanegbi, Dermer meeting, the White House put out a statement about the talks.
“The two sides over the course of two hours had a constructive engagement on Rafah. They agreed that they share the objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah.
“The U.S. side expressed its concerns with various courses of action in Rafah. The Israeli side agreed to take these concerns into account and to have follow-up discussions with experts overseen by the SCG,” the White House said.
It added that there could be an “in-person” follow-up meeting as early as next week.
The virtual talks between US and Israeli officials took place alongside hostage negotiations in Cairo.
A senior political official said that the talks, which included an Israeli delegation led by Mossad, showed “potential for real progress, but it is still very early for optimism.”
Qatar and Egypt, with the support of the US, have been holding indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas for the release of the remaining 134 hostages.
Political sources said Israel was waiting for a Hamas proposal to advance matters.
On Sunday, the war cabinet said it could be flexible toward the return of civilians to northern Gaza as part of the deal.
A senior political source said the proposal on the table for a six-week pause to the war in exchange for the release of some of the hostages tests Hamas and its Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar.
“Do they want six weeks of humanitarian respite that will make it easier for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip – or do they want to continue dragging their feet in the way that causes severe suffering for their people,” the source said.
Maariv contributed to this report.