Israel moves to more limited Rafah assault plan, to which US will not object – report

Israel has decided to shelve plans for a major offensive in the Gaza Strip’s southern city of Rafah, and will act in a more limited manner, after discussions with the US on the matter, Washington Post analyst David Ignatius reported Monday.

Ignatius said, based on conversations with unidentified officials with knowledge of the matter, that a previous plan to send two divisions into the city will not move forward, and operations will instead be more restrained.

Washington believes the new plans will result in fewer civilian casualties and thus is not expected to oppose them, Ignatius wrote.

He wrote that after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Saudi and Israeli officials this week, Washington had signposted “the direction of a gradual end to Israeli combat operations and the beginning of a still-fuzzy ‘day after.'”

The report said that unspecified Israeli defense officials have also agreed on how Gaza will look at the conclusion of the war. READ MORE