According to media reports, Israel has adapted its controversial military operation in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, to US ally demands for limited operations.
“It is fair to say that the Israelis have updated their plans. They have taken into account many of the concerns we have raised,” a senior US government official said last night, according to the Times of Israel.
“Washington Post”: Use of two sections from table
The Washington Post previously reported that after talks with the US government, Israel decided to abandon plans for a major attack on the Egyptian border town and instead proceed with a more limited one.
An earlier plan to send two Israeli army units to the city would not go ahead, the US newspaper reported, citing unnamed US officials.
In Rafah, Israel’s leadership wants to destroy the last battalions of Islamist Hamas believed to be there. After more than seven months of war, Rafah is the last city in the sealed-off Gaza Strip that is still relatively intact. US rules out a major Israeli ground attack. Israel’s army launched a ground operation in the east of the city two weeks ago.
