Netanyahu says he is going into Rafah with or without American support: Israeli PM tells Blinken he is going to ‘finish Hamas’ in and will ‘do it alone’ if he doesn’t get U.S. backing in huge snub to Biden

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that he is committed to sending troops to the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and that he would do so without US support.

He made the announcement after meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. President Joe Biden’s administration has urged Israel to delay its invasion of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering.

‘Today I met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “I express my deep appreciation for our joint efforts in the fight against Hamas for more than five months,” Netanyahu said.

“I underlined our commitment to evacuating civilians from conflict areas and meeting humanitarian needs. However, I underlined the need to enter the Gaza Strip and neutralize the remaining militias to defeat Hamas,” he added.

“While I expressed hope for American support, I made it clear that we would move forward independently if necessary.”

Netanyahu’s statement came after Russia And China vetoed an American draft resolution in the United States United Nations calling for an ‘immediate and lasting’ ceasefire Gaza.

In a phone call with Netanyahu last week, Biden told the Israeli prime minister that it would be a “mistake” to launch an offensive on Rafah.

“A major ground operation there would be a mistake, lead to even more innocent civilian deaths, worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis, deepen anarchy in Gaza and further isolate Israel internationally,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said . press conference on Monday, where he read the leaders’ call.

During their call, the first time Biden and the Israeli prime minister spoke in a month, Biden asked Netanyahu to send a team of military, intelligence and humanitarian officials to Washington to discuss Israeli plans for Rafah and an alternative approach to target Hamas and secure the border between Egypt and Gaza without a large-scale invasion.

Netanyahu agreed and the advisers were expected to be in Washington DC next week.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Tel Aviv, Israel

Muslims perform the second Friday prayer of the holy month of Ramadan among the rubble of the Al-Farooq Mosque, which was destroyed during the Israeli attack in Rafah

Palestinians look at a house destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Rafah

Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday after spending time in Cario and Saudi Arabia seeking support for a ceasefire deal.

Ahead of his visit to Israel, Blinken said an invasion of Rafah would be “a mistake,” adding that a ceasefire was “possible.”

“There is a false choice here… Hamas can be effectively tackled without a major ground operation in Rafah,” Blinken said.

The United Nations has repeatedly warned of a looming famine facing 2.4 million people in the besieged Palestinian territory, where more than five months of war has largely destroyed civilian infrastructure and left most of the population displaced.

The foreign minister’s meeting with Netanyahu and his war cabinet came amid tensions with the Biden administration.

Netanyahu called a Senate lunch meeting of Republican senators this week, but Senate Democrats did not invite him following Minority Leader Charles Schumer’s speech calling for new elections in Israel and saying that Netanyahu was “the was lost’.

“Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah,” Schumer said in a speech that President Biden called “good.”

The talks are aimed at bringing about a lull in the fighting and the return of an estimated 200 hostages seized by Hamas in the October 7 attack, with negotiations focusing on Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Meanwhile, with the defeat of the US-backed resolution in the UN, France steps in to try to revive efforts.

“Following the veto by Russia and China a few minutes ago, we will resume work on the basis of the French draft resolution in the Security Council and work with our American, European and Arab partners to reach an agreement,” French President Emmanuel Macron said . Friday.