US raises Rafah concerns with Israel, discusses Iran attack

By Steve Holland and Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Senior U.S. officials raised concerns with their Israeli counterparts on Thursday about Israel's plans for military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and the two sides also discussed Iran's drone-and-missile strike on Israel in a virtual meeting.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's representatives agreed "to take these concerns into account" for any military action in Rafah, the White House said, amid heightened fears of the threat of regional war in the Middle East.

President Joe Biden has urged Israel not to launch a large-scale offensive in Rafah to avoid more Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza, where Palestinian health authorities say more than 33,000 people have been killed in Israel's assault.

The war in Gaza was triggered by an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas militants, who killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages according to Israeli tallies

The talks were a follow-up to a similar meeting held on April 1. That session concluded with tensions high and the two sides were far apart in their positions, according to people familiar with the matter.

The United States has been pressing Israel not to conduct a broad offensive in Rafah that would add to an increased civilian death toll but instead take a more targeted approach.

U.S. officials reportedly told the Israelis at the first meeting that their planning for Rafah was insufficient for evacuating and protecting the more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there, the last part of the enclave Israeli troops had not invaded in force.

A White House readout of Thursday's meeting said Rafah was the focus of discussion along with Iran.

"The two sides agreed on the shared objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah. U.S. participants expressed concerns with various courses of action in Rafah," the statement said.

It said they agreed to have further follow up discussions between experts and would meet again soon.

The discussion began in a small group format "to discuss the Iran attack and the collective efforts to further enhance Israel’s defense through advanced capabilities as well as cooperation with a broad coalition of military partners," the White House said.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who led the U.S. delegation, also briefed the Israelis on new sanctions and other measures against Iran in coordination with G7 governments, the White House said.

The meeting took place as Israel threatens to attack Iranian targets in response to Iran's launching of a barrage of drones and ballistic missiles last weekend against Israel.

Washington is trying to dissuade the Israelis from retaliatory strikes to avoid inflaming an already tense situation, a U.S. official said.

Iran's attack, its first ever on Israeli soil, was in retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1. Israel and its allies shot down the vast majority of the missiles and drones and there were no deaths, but Israel says it must act to preserve the credibility of its deterrents in the region.

The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday's meeting.

Israel's strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi headed the Israeli delegation in the virtual talks, an Israeli official said before the meeting.

The official said the agenda would include discussion of "operational and humanitarian planning for Rafah."

Plans for in-person talks on Rafah have been delayed in the aftermath of Iran's attack on Israel, the official said.

In Ramallah, the Palestinian government called on the Biden administration to "intervene immediately to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against our Palestinian people."

(Reporting by Steve Holland, Matt Spetalnick and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis and Daniel Wallis)