The White House is concerned about a possible ban in Israel on Al Jazeera, a ban that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to impose “immediately”, AFP reported on Monday.

Benjamin NetanyahuPhoto: JINI / Xinhua News / Profimedia

“I will tell you Israel what they are going to do, but (…) if it is true, such a decision will cause concern,” said the spokeswoman for the US executive branch, Karin Jean-Pierre. She added: “We believe in freedom of the press.”

  • Read also: Israel banned Al Jazeera broadcasting

At the same time, on Monday, the White House noted that if the information about the bodies found in the Al-Shifa hospital, from where the Israeli army retreated after two weeks of offensive, is true, then it is “very disturbing.”

“It’s very disturbing if it’s true,” Karin Jean-Pierre said, adding that Washington would “contact the Israeli government to get more information” after doctors and civilians present at the compound told AFP that there were at least 20 bodies, some of which looked as if they had been run over by military equipment. (Source: Agerpres)

The Israelis promised to “take into account” US concerns

RENEWAL: The White House later announced that Israeli officials, who spoke virtually with their American counterparts on Monday, “agreed to address” American concerns about Israel’s planned offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza, AFP reported on Tuesday.

During the two-hour talks, the United States “raised concerns about several plans for action in Rafah,” a city in the southern Gaza Strip home to 1.5 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced, according to a press release from the US executive branch. Their precarious situation, which could worsen in the event of an Israeli attack, has caused concern among the international community.

Read also:

  • Israel is demanding that the US postpone the canceled meeting on military plans in Rafah
  • The UN demand for a ceasefire in Gaza caused the biggest rift in US-Israeli relations since the start of the war
  • The United States reminds the Israeli defense minister that it opposes the attack on Rafah
  • ‘People are dying for a can of tuna’: Aid drops create dire situation in Gaza