An all-out Israeli offensive on the city of Rafah in Gaza would provoke 'anarchy' without eliminating Hamas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, as Washington stepped up a pressure campaign against such an assault.
An all-out Israel i offensive on the city of Rafah in Gaza would provoke"anarchy" without eliminating Hamas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, as Washington stepped up a pressure campaign against such an assault.
The United States and other countries, as well as top UN officials, have warned that a full assault on Rafah could have a disastrous impact on the refugees driven there by fighting elsewhere in Gaza, many of them living in desperate conditions.But Mr Blinken, when asked by US media whether the US concurred with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that Israeli forces had killed more civilians than Hamas militants since the war began, replied simply,"Yes, we do.
Mr Blinken also confirmed that the hold president Joe Biden has placed on weapons to Israel - as the US continues pressing it to better protect civilians and avoid an all-out invasion of Rafah - is limited to 3,500"high-capacity" bombs. Mr Blinken also spoke yesterday with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, insisting again the United States opposed a major Israel ground operation in Rafah, the State Department said.
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