Blinken reiterates U.S. opposition to Israeli invasion of Rafah

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a visit to Israel, reiterated Friday that the United States opposes a ground operation by the Israeli military in Rafah.

"We share Israel's goal of defeating Hamas, which is responsible for the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust. And we share the goal of ensuring Israel's long-term security. As we've said, though, a major military ground operation in Rafah is not the way to do it," Blinken said in remarks to the press in Tel Aviv, according to a transcript published by the State Department.

"It risks killing more civilians, it risks wreaking greater havoc with the provision of humanitarian assistance, it risks further isolating Israel around the world and jeopardizing its long-term security and standing," the secretary added.

During what was Blinken's sixth visit to Israel since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians, the secretary met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of Israel's War Cabinet to discuss a range of issues surrounding the situation in Gaza.

In a sign of ever growing rift between Netanyahu's government and the Joe Biden administration, the Israeli prime minister said in a statement that the Israeli military was so resolute about advancing into Rafah that it could do it even without U.S. support.

Netanyahu said he told Blinken that "we have no way to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah and eliminating the remnant of the battalions there."

"I told him that I hope we would do this with U.S. support but if necessary - we will do it alone," the prime minister said.

Rafah is located on the border separating Gaza and Egypt. It has become one of the major points of entry for humanitarian assistance to reach civilians devastated by Israel's military operation in Gaza.

Moreover, some one million civilians now are forced to reside in Rafah, after being displaced from northern Gaza during the initial phase of Israel's military operation.

Israeli officials will head to Washington for talks with their U.S. counterparts next week. Blinken said the talks are aimed at finding "a different way of achieving" the shared objectives of Israel and the United States, which is "defeating Hamas and ensuring Israel's long-term security."

"It really requires an integrated humanitarian, military, and political plan. And as I said, we'll be talking about that next week, going through the details of what we see as the best way forward," Blinken said.