Vehicles destroyed in Israeli shelling on Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, on March 19, 2024. (Credit: Said Khatib/AFP)
With an Israeli military delegation expected in Washington next week, the Biden administration is currently studying "alternatives" to an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the US media outlet Axios, which quotes two unnamed US officials. These alternatives will be presented to the Israeli delegation during its visit.
The Biden administration is firmly opposed to an assault on Rafah and has expressed its concern at the lack of an Israeli plan to protect civilians. Most of the 1.7 million people displaced by the war, according to the UN, have taken refuge in the southern city of Rafah, which sits on the closed border with Egypt and is bombarded daily by the Israeli army. While reaffirming his determination to launch a ground military offensive in Rafah, "the last bastion of Hamas" according to Israel, Netanyahu assured on Sunday that such an operation would not be carried out "by leaving the population locked in place."
According to Axios, Joe Biden's proposal to the Israeli prime minister in a call earlier this week to invite an Israeli delegation to Washington to discuss Rafah took Netanyahu "by surprise." This idea had been "discussed by the US administration for several days, in order to open up a 'more constructive' path with the Israelis," said two sources. Washington feared, according to one of the unnamed officials, that "negotiations over the release of the Israeli hostages would fail and the Israelis would take action and invade Rafah, marking a breaking point in the relationship with Israel." The Americans have realized "that it is not enough to tell the Israelis what not to do, but that they must also present an American alternative," according to these sources.
Two ideas
One of the ideas being looked at would "delay a military operation in the city and concentrate on the humanitarian situation in the north of the Gaza Strip," which would involve building "shelters for civilians evacuated from Rafah," Axios continued. This would "reduce the risk of massive civilian casualties in the event of an invasion," said one official.
Another alternative would be to turn to "securing the Egyptian border with Gaza, as part of a joint US-Egypt-Israel plan to destroy tunnels under the border and create infrastructure to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza," according to U.S. officials.
According to Axios, Netanyahu stated that he intends to send two of his closest confidants, Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi, as well as a military official in charge of humanitarian issues, to the United States. The delegation will not include an Israeli officer in charge of military planning for the Rafah operation, as requested by the United States.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is also scheduled to travel separately to Washington next week for talks with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior officials about the war in Gaza, Israeli and US officials said.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.