US-Israeli sit-down on Rafah delayed again amid cease-fire talks

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - A planned visit of an Israeli delegation to Washington to discuss Tel Aviv's vowed invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah has been delayed again, the White House said Monday.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that there is "still no date certain" for the meeting, which was planned to take place this week after being abruptly called off by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late March in retaliation for Washington's decision not to veto a UN Security Council cease-fire resolution.

The White House had said it expected the meeting to take place this week after a virtual face-to-face transpired last Monday, but Kirby said he is "not sure that it's going to actually happen this week."

"I think folks are really sort of circling around sometime next week. But stay tuned, obviously when we know something. But I'm not expecting one this week. We're still working the calendar," he added.

The Biden administration is seeking to use the meeting to present their Israeli counterparts with alternatives to a full-fledged invasion of Rafah.

The reason for the delay was not immediately clear, but it comes after a weekend of talks aimed at securing a temporary cease-fire in Gaza concluded with the White House saying Palestinian group Hamas was presented with a truce proposal.

"The administration is doing everything possible to broker a deal that secures the release of all the hostages and leads to an immediate cease-fire and there's simply no higher priority," he told reporters during a virtual briefing.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, is facing an internal revolt within his government if he does not authorize an assault on Rafah before the war concludes.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday threatened to topple Netanyahu's government if the offensive does not begin, saying on X, "If the Prime Minister decides to end the war without an extensive attack on Rafah in order to defeat Hamas, he will not have a mandate to continue serving as Prime Minister."

Despite global outcry over the catastrophic situation in the Palestinian enclave, the Israeli premier has long expressed his intention to attack Rafah, where over 1.5 million refugees have taken refuge.

Netanyahu rules with 64 seats in the 120-member Knesset, or parliament. His coalition has five other parties, including two far-right parties led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who have a combined 13 seats. Sixty-one seats are needed for a majority government.

Israel has waged a military offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack by Hamas which claimed about 1,200 lives. More than 33,000 Palestinians have since been killed amid widescale destruction, displacement and conditions of famine in Gaza.