Disagreement between allies? US and Israel offer conflicting explanations of Rafah operation
White House says Rafah operation is limited, Israel says ‘Rafah operation will expand as necessary’
After Israel captured the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Tuesday morning, conflicting accounts emerged from Israel and the United States regarding the objectives of the operation.
On Tuesday evening, White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said the operation in Rafah is limited in purpose, designed to deal with arms and money smuggling.
“What we've been told by our Israeli counterparts is that this operation last night was limited and designed to cut off Hamas' ability to smuggle weapons,” he said.
Kirby also said that Israel and Hamas need to make concessions to reach an agreement.
“A close assessment of the two sides' positions suggests that they should be able to close the remaining gaps, and we're going to do everything we can to support that process,” he stated.
However, the Israeli government's assessment of Rafah does not appear to support the White House claims.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited an IDF artillery battery near Rafah on Tuesday, where he told the soldiers the goal is to "eliminate Hamas.”
"Yesterday, I ordered the IDF to enter the Rafah area, seize the crossing and carry out its missions,” Gallant told the soldiers. “This operation will continue until we eliminate Hamas in the Rafah area and throughout the Gaza Strip, or until the first abductee returns.”
Gallant said Israel would be willing to make compromises to bring home the hostages, but if negotiations fail, military operations throughout Gaza would intensify.
"We are willing to compromise in order to bring back hostages,” Gallant stated, "but if there is no such possibility, we will intensify the operation, it will happen throughout the Gaza Strip - in the south, center and north. Hamas understands only force, so we will intensify our operation, and military pressure will lead to the crushing of Hamas.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who dispatched an Israeli delegation to Cairo for continued negotiations regarding the hostages, said the Rafah operation “is a necessary condition for the return of the hostages.”
“The entrance to Rafah serves two main war objectives: the return of our abductees and the elimination of Hamas, and we have already proven in the previous release of the abductees - military pressure is a necessary condition for the return of our abductees,” Netanyahu said.
War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz also spoke about the operation in Rafah on Tuesday, stressing that it would expand “as long as necessary.”
“Yesterday, we began a military operation in the Rafah area – which will expand as needed,” Gantz said.
While the hostages are the primary goal, Gantz said that Israel will destroy Hamas.
“We are waging a war of existence, not a tactical battle against one battalion or another. Our achievements, even if they take a long time to achieve, must be strategic – and the return of our abductees is the first strategic goal, alongside the need to remove the threat of Hamas and ensure that such a threat does not reemerge.”
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The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
