U.S. and Israel to discuss alternatives to Rafah invasion, senior Israeli official says
TEL AVIV — Senior Israeli and American diplomats will take part in a virtual meeting today to discuss alternatives to a ground assault on Gaza’s overcrowded southernmost city of Rafah, an Israeli official told NBC News.
The meeting was scheduled to happen in-person at the White House last week. But after the U.S. declined to use its veto power and abstained in a United Nations Security Council vote calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled the talks.
After days of public tension with the White House over the cancellation, Israel quietly asked for the meetings to be rescheduled, a U.S. official said last week.
The Israeli official said that Ron Dermer, a minister in the war Cabinet, and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi will attend the meeting, which was first reported by Axios. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will likely be part of the American team, they added.
Israeli officials may still travel to the White House in the coming days to continue the meetings in person, the Israeli official said.
