U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Israel has not apprised the U.S. of any specific date for the start of a major offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but added that American and Israeli officials remained in contact to try to ensure that “any kind of major military operation doesn’t … Read more
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his pledge to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. “It will happen. There is a date,” Netanyahu said in a video statement Monday, without elaborating. The United … Read more
Israel’s military says it has withdrawn its forces from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, wrapping up a key phase in its ground offensive against the Hamas militant group and bringing its troop presence in the territory to one of the lowest levels since the six-month war began. But defense officials said Sunday that … Read more
For a few months now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly invoked the name of the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city: Rafah. His government has relentlessly threatened Hamas—and promised its own public—that it will soon send ground troops into the only part of Gaza that Israel has yet to invade. Netanyahu dangles the threat in … Read more
JERUSALEM — Israel is telling the world that the last battle of the Gaza war will take place in a sand-blown city on the Egyptian border. The Americans are wary. The Palestinians are terrified. Rafah, in southern Gaza, is now home to 1.4 million people — a last refuge for those displaced from other parts … Read more
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he will share alternatives to Israel’s planned ground assault into the southern Gaza town of Rafah when he meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his War Cabinet on Friday. Blinken and Arab leaders on Thursday discussed efforts for a cease-fire and ideas for Gaza’s post-conflict future during … Read more
CAIRO — Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed optimism Thursday that a deal to pause fighting in the Gaza Strip and free hostages held there would eventually be reached, but he said he intends to deliver a tough message to Israeli leaders that a potential invasion of the packed city of Rafah would be a … Read more
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to make a quick stop in Israel on Friday, according to the State Department, as the Biden administration pushes Israeli leaders to take a pinpoint approach to battling Hamas in the packed city of Rafah in southern Gaza to avoid what it warns could be humanitarian catastrophe. Tensions … Read more
JERUSALEM — Israel is determined to launch a ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost town, a plan that has raised global alarm because of the potential for harm to the hundreds of thousands of civilians sheltering there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel can’t achieve its goal of “total victory” against Hamas without … Read more
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained defiant Tuesday in the face of mounting U.S. pressure to abandon plans to invade Rafah, vowing to press ahead with an attack on the southern Gaza city, where more than 1 million displaced people have fled since the start of the war. In remarks to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs … Read more