The US and Israel will hold a virtual meeting today (Thursday) on the subject of possible IDF action in Rafah. The Biden administration remains concerned that an Israeli invasion of Rafah will result in massive harm to Palestinian civilians.
This will be the second virtual meeting between the parties on the Rafah issue. A face-to-face meeting that was supposed to take place this week in Washington was canceled due to the Iranian attack. According to the Israeli plan that was presented to the Americans, it would not be necessary to evacuate all the citizens from the city immediately but that each neighborhood would be evacuated separately. A senior American noted that the plans that the IDF presented to the US Department of Defense included a slow and gradual operation in Rafa. The American official said that there has been a significant improvement in the humanitarian situation in Gaza since the Iranian attacks. The Israeli side will be headed by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi.