GAZA: The United States warned Israel Thursday that it risks 鈥渄isaster鈥� if it sends troops into Gaza鈥檚 far-southern city of Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians have sought refuge.
The warning came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered troops to 鈥減repare to operate鈥� in Rafah, the last major town in the Gaza Strip Israeli ground troops have yet to enter.
Israel鈥檚 armed forces stepped up its air strikes on the city on Thursday as fears of ground fighting grew among the hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced from other parts of Gaza who are now sheltering in tents and bombed out buildings.
UN chief Antonio Guterres warned that a military push into Rafah 鈥渨ould exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare.鈥�
Heavy fighting raged on despite international efforts toward a ceasefire in the bloodiest ever Gaza war sparked by Hamas鈥檚 October 7 attack on southern Israel.
State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said Washington had 鈥測et to see any evidence of serious planning鈥� for a Rafah ground operation.
Noting that Rafah is also a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid destined for Gaza, Patel said such an assault was 鈥渘ot something we鈥檇 support.鈥�
鈥淭o conduct such an operation right now with no planning and little thought... would be a disaster.鈥�
Secretary of State Antony Blinken conveyed Washington鈥檚 concerns to Netanyahu directly during their talks on Wednesday in Jerusalem, Patel said.
Publicly, the US top diplomat warned that any 鈥渕ilitary operation that Israel undertakes needs to put civilians first and foremost.鈥�
Blinken left Israel without securing a pause in fighting, wrapping up his fifth crisis tour of the Middle East since the war started.
AFP journalists reported that Israel carried out at least seven air strikes overnight in the Rafah area, terrifying civilians crowded into shelters and makeshift camps.
鈥淭hese strikes are proof there is no safety in Rafah,鈥� said resident Umm Hassan, 48, whose home was damaged in the shelling of the nearby house of a local police chief.
鈥淟ook at the residential unit they just blew up,鈥� he said. 鈥淩egarding Netanyahu鈥檚 threat to invade Rafah, we are people of faith. We are not worried. Life is one and God is one.鈥�
Strikes and ground combat continued across the Hamas-ruled territory, now in its fifth month of war, where the health ministry said another 130 people were killed in 24 hours.
Blinken ended his fifth tour of the region, where US forces have been drawn into related conflicts from Iraq to Yemen.
On the ceasefire talks, Blinken insisted he still saw 鈥渟pace for agreement to be reached鈥� to halt the fighting and bring home hostages.
Egypt was set to host new talks with Qatari and Hamas negotiators hoping to achieve 鈥渃alm鈥� in Gaza and a prisoner-hostage exchange, an Egyptian official said.
The Israeli prime minister had rejected what he labelled Hamas鈥檚 鈥渂izarre demands鈥� in the talks.
Blinken told reporters that Hamas鈥檚 counter-proposal had at least offered an opportunity 鈥渢o pursue negotiations.鈥�
鈥淲hile there are some clear non-starters in Hamas鈥檚 response, we do think it creates space for agreement to be reached, and we will work at that relentlessly until we get there,鈥� he said.
Hamas said a delegation led by Khalil Al-Hayya, a leading member of the group鈥檚 political bureau, was traveling to Cairo.
A Gaza-based Palestinian official close to the militant group later told AFP: 鈥淲e expect the negotiations to be very complex and difficult.
鈥淏ut Hamas is open to discussions and the movement is keen to reach a ceasefire,鈥� added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Hamas鈥檚 unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas and launched air strikes and a ground offensive that have killed at least 27,840 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Militants also seized around 250 hostages. Israel says 132 remain in Gaza, of whom 29 are believed to have died.
Months of bombardment and siege have deepened a humanitarian crisis, especially in southern Gaza.
鈥淭heir living conditions are abysmal,鈥� UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said. 鈥淭hey lack the basic necessities to survive, stalked by hunger, disease and death.鈥�
UN rights chief Volker Turk charged that Israel was committing a 鈥渨ar crime鈥� with its reported destruction of buildings to create a 鈥渂uffer zone鈥� along the border inside Gaza.
Israel鈥檚 鈥渆xtensive destruction of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly, amounts to a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and a war crime,鈥� he said in a statement.
The Gaza war has sparked a surge in violence across the region by Iran-backed groups operating in solidarity with Hamas, drawing retaliatory attacks from Israel and the United States and its allies.
A US air strike in Iraq on Wednesday killed a senior commander from a pro-Iran armed group who US Central Command said was 鈥渞esponsible for directly planning and participating in attacks on US forces.鈥�
The strike came after Washington last week launched a wave of attacks on Iran-linked targets in Iraq and Syria following the killing of three US troops in neighboring Jordan.
The Israeli military confirmed it had targeted a commander of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah that it held responsible for recent rocket fire into Israel from south Lebanon.
In other diplomatic attempts to end the war, Jordan鈥檚 King Abdullah II left on a tour of the United States, Canada, France and Germany, the royal court said.