Watan-The American newspaper “The Washington Post” revealed, citing sources, that the United States offered Israel valuable assistance and supplies if it backed down from its extensive invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza, noting that the safe transfer of thousands from Rafah would take months.
The sources stated that the American assistance included providing intelligence to locate leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and uncover hidden tunnels.
The newspaper, citing two informed individuals, explained that American officials are now working closely with Egypt to locate tunnels crossing the border between Egypt and Gaza in the Rafah area, which Hamas used to militarily reinforce.
An American official reported serious concerns in Washington about Israel’s approach in its military campaign, which may reach its peak in Rafah.
Relocation Takes Several Months
Officials from the US administration, including experts from the US Agency for International Development, informed Israel that it would take several months to safely relocate hundreds of thousands of Palestinians currently living in precarious and unhealthy conditions in Rafah.
According to the newspaper, American officials offered Tel Aviv “assistance in providing thousands of shelters so that Israel can build tent cities, and assistance in building food, water, and medicine delivery systems.”
The newspaper stated that this aid aims to enable the Palestinians evacuated from Rafah to obtain a suitable place to live, according to American officials.
The American offers come during negotiations that have taken place over the past weeks between senior American and Israeli officials regarding the size and scope of the operation in Rafah.
Invasion of Rafah
The Israeli War Cabinet unanimously decided to continue the military operation in Rafah after Hamas announced its acceptance of the Egyptian-Qatari proposal for a ceasefire.
A statement from the Cabinet read: “The War Cabinet unanimously decided that Israel will continue its operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas, in order to enhance the release of our hostages and achieve other war objectives.”
Israeli tanks advanced into the city of Rafah on Tuesday after Tel Aviv announced that Hamas’s ceasefire offer did not meet its demands.