The US denies that it gave the “green light” for intervention in Rafa

The claim is “not true and not something that has been discussed,” the White House says. The White House flatly refused on Thursday to give Israel the “green light” to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah in exchange for Tel Aviv’s commitment to “limited” retaliation against Iran.

A spokesman for the National Security Council told Anadolu on condition of anonymity that the claim “is not true and is not something that has been discussed.”

The London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed news agency earlier reported that the Biden administration granted the approval in exchange for Israel’s pledge not to carry out large-scale retaliation against Iran for an unprecedented ballistic missile and drone strike in last weekend. An anonymous Egyptian source was cited. The Jerusalem Post made a similar report.

“The publication is inaccurate,” said the representative of the National Security Council

The Biden administration has said it will not support an invasion of Rafah that does not consider the humanitarian impact, and the White House has been trying for weeks to schedule a meeting with an Israeli delegation in Washington to present alternatives.

To date, only one online meeting has taken place. According to information, another video conference will take place today, Thursday. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is said to be leading the talks from the US side, involving, among others, Joe Biden’s Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, although the president himself will not attend.

Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tachi Hanegbi are leading the Israeli delegation to the talks, an Israeli official told Reuters news agency. The official told Reuters that topics would include “operational and humanitarian planning for Rafah,” while Israel’s response to Iran’s airstrike over the weekend is also expected to be discussed. Essentially everything is on the table but it will be discussed.

Despite heavy shelling of Rafah, Israel has not yet invaded the enclave.

The background to the first debate

It was a follow-up to an April 1 meeting on the same issue (the day the Iranian embassy in Damascus was struck), which was said to have included raised voices, war cries from Israel and US officials who did not believe that Israeli plans to deal with the humanitarian problems surrounding the operation were realistic.

Rafah is the only major city in Gaza yet to come under ground attack by Israeli troops, but hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians crowding the city have continued to suffer airstrikes in recent months.

Mr Biden has consistently urged Israel not to launch a large-scale attack on Rafah to avoid more Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza, where Hamas-led health authorities say nearly 34,000 people have been killed since last October.

Palestinians, who fled their homes due to Israeli strikes, take shelter in a tented camp amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, on the border with Egypt in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, 10 April 2024.

The background of the attack

Tehran launched a nighttime attack on Israel on Saturday in response to an April 1 strike on its consulate in Syria that killed seven Iranian military personnel, including two high-ranking commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for Syria and Lebanon .

Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the strike, but has carried out strikes against Iranian targets across Syria in recent months. The US has denied having any role in it.

Israel has vowed to retaliate against Iranian retaliation. Tehran threatened to “reexamine” its nuclear doctrine on Thursday if Israel goes ahead with an attack on any Iranian nuclear facility amid heightened tensions between the two regional foes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also long vowed to invade Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge after being previously displaced during the more than half-year war.