Netanyahu says told Blinken Israel will go into Rafah even without US support
Smoke rises during an Israeli ground operation in Khan Younis, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from a tent camp sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip January 31, 2024. REUTERS/Bassam Masoud/ File photo
Israel plans to launch a ground offensive in Gaza's Rafah with or without the support of its close ally the United States, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday.
"We have no way to defeat Hamas without getting into Rafah and eliminating the battalions that are left there. I told him [Blinken] that I hope to do that with the support of the United States, but if we need to, we will do it alone," Netanyahu said after meeting Blinken in Tel Aviv.
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