Biden Admin Officials Meet With Israeli Officials Virtually Ahead of Likely Rafah Invasion

U.S. and Israeli officials met virtually on April 1 to discuss Israel’s likely invasion of the Gazan city of Rafah, said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“We want to make sure, if there is going to be a military operation—we also know that there are Hamas operators in Rafah as well—but if they are going to move with a military operation, we have to have this conversation,” said Ms. Jean-Pierre. “We have to understand how they’re going to move forward.”

The meeting was led on the U.S. side by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, she noted.

The Israeli side was led by national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and minister for strategic affairs Ron Dermer, according to the White House.

“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,” it said.

Related Stories

“The U.S. side expressed its concerns with various courses of action in Rafah,” continued the White House. “The Israeli side agreed to take these concerns into account and to have follow up discussions between experts, overseen by the SCG.”

The two sides will meet next week, according to the White House.

The meeting comes a week after the United States abstained from a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian assistance into Gaza. The abstention, as opposed to the United States using its permanent veto to block the resolution, was due to the resolution not explicitly condemning the terror group Hamas, which launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially canceled a planned in-person meeting between Israeli and U.S. officials in Washington in response to the resolution but quickly reversed course.

Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant was already in Washington by the time Mr. Netanyahu canceled the trip by top Israeli officials. Mr. Gallant met with Mr. Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The Gaza operation was one of many topics they discussed.

Mr. Netanyahu said his decision to cancel was meant to deliver a message to Hamas that international pressure against Israel will not prompt it to end the war without concessions from the terrorist group.

Speaking to visiting Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mr. Netanyahu said the canceled visit “was a message first and foremost to Hamas: Don’t bet on this pressure, it’s not going to work.”

Mr. Netanyahu said the United States’ abstention on the U.N. vote was “very, very bad,” and that it “encouraged Hamas to take a hard line and to believe that international pressure will prevent Israel” from achieving its war aims. Israel wants to destroy Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and free the hostages taken by the terrorist group during its Oct. 7 attack against Israel.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the initial move to halt in-person talks between the two allies was disappointing and that the vote did not reflect any change in U.S. policy, which has thus far insulated Israel from growing international condemnation.

“It’s disappointing,” Mr. Kirby told reporters on March 25.

“We’re very disappointed that they won’t be coming to Washington D.C. to allow us to have a fulsome conversation with them about viable alternatives to going in on the ground in Rafah.”

However, the White House maintains that its policy has not changed and said it continues to support a temporary cease-fire to facilitate the exchange of hostages, while also supporting Israel with arms and ammunition.

“There’s no change in our policy here,” Mr. Kirby said.

The delegation was intended to discuss the two nations’ opposing views on a potential Israeli invasion of Rafah, the last bastion of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Rafah Border Crossing straddles Egypt and Gaza.

The Biden administration and most of the international community have warned against such an operation on the grounds that it could result in heavy civilian casualties. Most of Gaza’s population has been displaced into the area by Israeli military operations in the north.

Although the U.S. abstention allowed the call for a temporary cease-fire to pass, the Biden administration continues to provide arms and ammunition to Israel without conditions. When asked about the administration’s thoughts as to whether those arms would now be used in Rafah, Mr. Kirby reiterated that the administration was opposed to such an operation.

“We continue to support Israel as they go after Hamas, and nothing has changed about our view that a major ground operation in Rafah would be a mistake,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.