A White House spokeswoman said Wednesday that the Israeli government had agreed to try to reschedule a visit by a gaggle of officials whose trip to Washington to discuss a possible attack on the important thing southern Gaza city was rejected over the U.S. decision not to veto a U.N. resolution calling for a direct ceasefire.
President Biden has asked Israel to send a delegation to Washington to discuss alternatives to a ground offensive in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where greater than 1,000,000 people have sought refuge. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled the delegation’s trip on the last minute after he was angered by the US decision to abstain from voting on the resolution on the UN Security Council on Monday.
“The prime minister’s office said they want to postpone this meeting so that we can talk about operations in Rafah,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “We are happy about it. We will work with their teams to ensure this happens.
There was no immediate confirmation of the desire to postpone the meeting from Netanyahu’s office, which issued a statement just hours earlier denying reports that the meeting had resumed. “Contrary to reports, the Prime Minister did not consent to the delegation’s trip to Washington,” the statement said.
The United States had previously vetoed a ceasefire resolution three times. However, by abstaining from voting on Monday, it allowed the adoption of a resolution that was less clearly worded than the previous ones and called for a ceasefire for the holy month of Ramadan.
Netanyahu in a statement condemned the abstention, calling it “a retreat from the consistent American position since the beginning of the war.” The Biden administration assured on Monday that abstention did not mean a change in the United States’ position.
Friction between the two allies has increased over civilian deaths in Gaza after more than five months of fighting sparked by an Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack that killed about 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials.
Health officials in Gaza say more than 32,000 people have been killed during the Israeli military operation, with fighting creating dire conditions on the ground and humanitarian groups warning of a coming famine.
Asked about Netanyahu’s earlier denial of reports that the meeting would resume, Ms. Jean-Pierre firmly stated that his office had agreed to try to reschedule the meeting.
“When we have a date, we will definitely share it with you,” she said. “That’s what we know from our side.”
The statement got here hours after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant wrote on social media that he had concluded a successful visit to the United States. The trip coincided with the UN vote and its consequences.
During his visit, Mr. Gallant met with several senior U.S. officials, including Jake Sullivan, national security adviser, and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, who has made Rafah central to his agenda.
After the meeting, a senior Defense Department official said Austin provided an outline of the Biden administration’s alternative approach to a significant combat operation in Rafah, including a give attention to precision targeting aimed toward rooting out Hamas leadership.
The official, who spoke by phone to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential talks, said the Israelis were open and that additional meetings could be held in the long run.
Ms. Jean-Pierre said the United States stays hopeful that it’ll help negotiate a short lived ceasefire and release hostages held by Hamas.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 broadcast on Wednesday evening, John F. Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, admitted that talks had stalled.
“We felt that the differences were narrowing and that we were getting closer to an agreement under which we would be able to release the hostages,” he said. “Right now it doesn’t seem like we’re moving forward, at least not in the way we all expected, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to give up our efforts.”
Johnathan Reiss reporting contributed.
