[1andrew1]

Messaging seems to be please don't do it, but if you do, no adverse repercussions will occur

White House warns Israel against ‘smashing into Rafah’

US sees no ‘credible plan’ to protect civilians in southern Gazan city, says Jake Sullivan

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan has warned the Israeli government against “smashing into Rafah” as the Biden administration underlines its opposition to the planned assault on one of Gaza’s biggest cities.

The US was continuing to urge the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to protect civilians and find a path for a long-term peace, Sullivan said. But an assault on the southern Gaza city was not necessary in the effort to “crush Hamas”, he added.

“[President Joe Biden] believes there is a path to do that, and that path does not lie in smashing into Rafah, where there are 1.3mn people, in the absence of a credible plan to deal with the population there,” Sullivan said on Tuesday. “We have not seen a credible plan to protect those civilians.”

In an interview over the weekend, Biden suggested a military operation in Rafah, the last remaining population centre in southern Gaza unoccupied by Israeli forces, could further strain Washington’s relations with the Jewish state.

But the president has stopped short of saying he would deny military assistance to its ally Israel and the US has not said what repercussions the Netanyahu government would face for ignoring Washington’s warnings on Rafah.

Sullivan also declined to speculate on whether the US would begin placing any conditions on the $3.8bn in annual lethal aid it provides to Israel.

https://www.ft.com/content/7657510b-...3-7808f59ea5e0