From the Liveblog of
Sunday, April 14, 2024
US trip by Israeli officials to discuss Rafah operation ‘on the back burner now’
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi were slated to fly to Washington this week to discuss the looming Rafah operation, but that trip is in doubt after the Iranian attack.
“It’s on the back burner now,” says an Israeli official.
Israel has been threatening to enter Rafah, the last Gaza city fully in Hamas hands, for weeks. Netanyahu has even said there is a date for the operation. But the US has come out against a major IDF action in the crowded city where some 1.5 million Gazans are sheltering.
Dermer and Hanegbi held a tense videoconference about a potential operation in Rafah with White House officials earlier this month, and had been expected to fly to Washington to continue talks.
