By Iclal Turan
WASHINGTON (AA) - A major military operation by Israel in the city of Rafah would further weaken its standing globally, the US said Thursday, noting that talks to reach a cease-fire in Gaza are ongoing.
“A major military operation in Rafah would further weaken Israel’s standing in the world and would further create distance from its partners in the region who actually share Israel’s goal of seeing Hamas defeated and want to see Hamas replaced with a different governance structure in Gaza,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
Miller added that a Rafah operation would also weaken Israel’s position in talks to reach a hostage and cease-fire deal in Gaza as Washington continues to engage with Israel on the amendments to the proposal that Hamas submitted earlier this week.
Noting that talks continue to finalize the text to get an agreement, Miller said: “I will just say that any effort like this is incredibly difficult.”
“We will continue to stay engaged to try to get a deal because we believe it’s in the interest of all relevant parties,” he added.