(PatriotSpotlight.org) – As the Israel-Hamas conflict rumbles on in Gaza, the United States has launched fresh negotiations with Israel in a bid to stop a full-scale invasion of Rafah. Rafah, located close to the Egyptian border, is the last city in Gaza to have largely avoided Israel’s military campaign. Top Israeli officials believe key Hamas leaders are staking out there.
The Biden administration has offered to provide sensitive intelligence and supplies to Israel if it limits its planned assault on the Gazan city. It is thought the U.S. intelligence in question will aid Israeli forces in targeting Hamas leaders resident in the region’s intricate network of terror tunnels, which would likely help limit potential civilian casualties.
Washington has also vowed to provide thousands of shelters to help create tent cities for displaced Palestinians in Gaza, as well as help safeguard the delivery of food, medicine, and water to civilians who would have to evacuate Rafah if an Israeli operation is launched there. There is extensive evidence that Hamas has interfered with and stolen aid deliveries and has even massacred civilians attempting to access it.
The timing of the talks is critical, with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating last week that he intends to approve a full-on invasion of Rafah. Still, the Biden administration remains keen to circumvent any more major escalations given rising domestic and international pressure to pressure Israel to end or limit its military force. Rafah remains a key flashpoint in the continuing war, given that it is the final stronghold of Hamas power within the 140.9 square mile Gaza Strip. Israeli officials claim an invasion is necessary to end Hamas’s presence there, but the city’s dense population means the risk of civilian casualties could be high.
The U.S. continues to collaborate with Egypt to locate and destroy tunnels linking Gaza to its neighbors, through which terror infiltrations have previously occurred. One U.S. official told the press that any intelligence it has, which is relevant to Israel, was not being withheld.
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