Israel Has Yet to Inform US of Date of Potential Rafah Invasion, Blinken Says

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel has yet to provide the US a specific date for a Rafah ground invasion, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge to carry out the operation in the southern Gaza city.

“No, we do not have a date for any Rafah operation…on the contrary, what we have is an ongoing conversation with Israel about any Rafah operation,” Blinken said during a joint press conference with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Washington, DC, on April 9. “We are talking to them about alternative and effective ways at solving a problem that needs to be solved but doing it in a way that does not endanger the innocent,” he said.

During the conference, Blinken said he expects talks on Rafah to continue next week, and said he doesn’t expect “any actions being taken before those talks.”

He also stressed the need for “sustained” aid to the region, and said its flow to Gaza needs to “continue as long as it’s necessary.” Credit: US State Department via Storyful

Video Transcript

ANTONY BLINKEN: Israel has made important commitments to significantly increase the supply of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza and has taken some initial actions as well to move on those commitments. We're looking at a number of critical things that need to happen in the coming days, including opening a new Northern point of entry for assistance into Gaza, using Ashdod on a regular basis, maximizing the flow of assistance from Jordan, as well as putting in place a much more effective deconfliction mechanism with the humanitarian groups that are providing assistance.

Just yesterday more than 400 trucks were cleared to go into Gaza. And that is the most since October 7 in any given day. But what matters is results and sustained results. And this is what we will be looking at very carefully in the days ahead. And that includes making sure that the assistance that gets into Gaza is distributed effectively throughout Gaza, not just in the South or in Central Gaza. It has to get to the North as well.

Of course, we have our own citizens who remain hostage in Gaza held by Hamas. We continue to work very closely with Israel, with Egypt, with Qatar on getting an agreement that will result in an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages and also create even better conditions for surging assistance to those who need it in Gaza.

- Thank you very much, and good morning. Secretary Blinken, there's been a spate of developments in Gaza that we're hoping you could shed some light for us on. First, Prime Minister Netanyahu has made public pronouncements about a date being set for an offensive in Rafah. Has the US been apprised of such a date and has it been given word of any accompanying plans by Israel to ensure the safety of civilians there?

Second, you mentioned the increase of the number of trucks being permitted into Gaza on a daily basis. But aid agencies, including the UN are still saying that much less than the minimum amount of aid required is actually getting where it needs to go. So is Israel really doing enough quickly enough in order to forestall changes in US policy as the president and you have made clear?

ANTONY BLINKEN: On Rafah, no, we do not have a date for any Rafah operation. At least one that's been communicated to us by the Israelis. On the contrary, what we have is an ongoing conversation with Israel about any Rafah operation. The president's been very clear about our concerns, our deep concerns about Israel's ability to move civilians out of harm's way, to care for them once they're out of harm's way, and to have any kind of major military operation that doesn't do real harm to civilians, to children, to women, to men.

We are committed to ensuring that Hamas cannot govern or dictate the future of Gaza or anything else for that matter. But how Israel conducts any further operations in Gaza matters a great deal. And as we've said, we're talking to them about alternative, and in our judgment, effective ways at solving a problem that needs to be solved. But doing it in a way that does not endanger the innocent. Those conversations are ongoing. My expectation is that we'll see Israeli colleagues again next week to pursue that.