One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidants, Ron Dermer, and Israel’s national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi will be heading to Washington, DC, to meet with US officials, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office obtained by CNN.
The statement did not say which US officials the Israeli delegation will meet with or when the visit will happen. The White House said it expects the visit to happen early next week.
Dermer is currently a member of Israel’s war cabinet and a former ambassador to the United States.
The US has been calling on Israel to explain how it intends to keep safe over 1 million Palestinians who are seeking refuge in southern Gaza, as Israel warns that it will soon launch a military offensive into Rafah. So far, US President Joe Biden’s administration says a plan has not been presented.
US wants Rafah alternatives: On Monday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Biden had asked Netanyahu to send a team to Washington “to hear U.S. concerns about Israel’s current Rafah planning and to lay out an alternative approach that would target key Hamas elements in Rafah and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground invasion.”
But the Israeli statement Tuesday said that Netanyahu “is determined to act in Rafah in order to finally eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions, while providing humanitarian solutions to the civilian population.”
The Israeli delegation will be accompanied by a representative — who was not named — for Israel’s Coordination of Government Actions in the Territories, the statement said.
