US cannot support’ Rafah assault without humanitarian plan

Blinken says he has not seen plan to shield civilians; Israel repeats op will go ahead

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ASHDOD, Israel - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on May 1 that he still had not seen a plan for Israel's planned offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah that would protect civilians, repeating that Washington could not support such an assault.

Mr Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem for 22 hours, after which Israel repeated that the Rafah operation would go ahead despite the US position and a UN warning that it would lead to tragedy.

"We cannot, will not, support a major military operation in Rafah absent an effective plan to make sure that civilians are not harmed and, no, we've not seen such a plan," Mr Blinken told reporters.

"There are other ways, and, in our judgment, better ways, of dealing with the... ongoing challenge of Hamas that do not require a major military operation in Rafah," he said, adding that it was the subject of ongoing talks with Israeli officials.

A government source said on May 2 that Israel's top ministers were set to meet to discuss prospects of an army sweep of Rafah, as well as a proposed Gaza truce to free some hostages held by Hamas.

An Israeli government spokesperson said Israel remained determined to destroy the remaining Hamas fighting formations.

"When it comes to Rafah - we are committed to remove the last four or five Hamas battalions in Rafah we are sharing our plans with Secretary of State Blinken," the spokesperson told a regular briefing.