US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Monday once again warned Israel against the risks of a Rafah offensive, reaffirming US opposition to such an operation during a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, AFP reported on Tuesday.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken “reaffirmed the United States’ support for the defeat of Hamas, including in Rafah, but reiterated his opposition to a major ground operation in Rafah,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a news release.

Anthony Blinken “highlighted the existence of solutions other than a full-scale ground invasion that would better ensure Israel’s security and protect Palestinian civilians,” Miller continued.

The meeting between Anthony Blinken and Minister Yoav Gallant took place on Monday in Washington after Israel canceled the visit of a high-ranking delegation to the American capital on the same day. The decision to cancel came in response to the Americans abstaining from a UN Security Council vote on Monday in favor of an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.

“I’m sure we will find other ways to express our concern” about this offensive, which will pose “enormous” risks to civilians, Matthew Miller said earlier Monday.

According to him, the Israeli government has not presented an agreed plan to evacuate the 1.4 million civilians present in Rafah, where most of them took refuge after the explosions in the northern Gaza Strip.

“This type of invasion will weaken Israel’s security” and “damage its position in the world,” he insisted, in a context in which the US is under pressure to reduce support given to Israel. (Agerpress)