www.axios.com Open in urlscan Pro
2606:4700:4400::ac40:97ae  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Skip to main content
Axios Homepage
 * Sections
 * Local news
 * Axios Pro
 * Events
 * About Axios
 * Newsletters


Log In
23 hours ago - World


NETANYAHU TO SEND DELEGATION TO D.C. TO DISCUSS RAFAH INVASION ALTERNATIVES

 * Barak Ravid

Share on facebook (opens in new window)
Share on twitter (opens in new window)
Share on linkedin (opens in new window)
Share on email (opens in new window)

The ruins of a mosque in Rafah following an Israeli bombardment. Photo: Mohammed
Abed/AFP via Getty

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to send a senior delegation
to Washington in the next few days to discuss an alternative strategy to an
Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, White House national security adviser Jake
Sullivan said in briefing with reporters on Monday.

Why it matters: This is a signal that both Biden and Netanyahu are trying to
avoid a public clash over an Israeli invasion of Rafah, where more than a
million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge.

Driving the news: Netanyahu recently reiterated for the third time that he has
approved plans for an operation in Rafah to destroy the remaining Hamas
battalions there.

 * Netanyahu has stressed, including in interviews with U.S. television
   networks, that whomever opposes an Israeli operation in Rafah opposes the
   destruction of Hamas and doesn't want Israel to win the war.
 * Sullivan said Monday that President Biden rejects that argument as
   "nonsense," saying: "A major ground operation in Rafah will be a mistake.
   More civilians will die, Israel will be further isolated internationally. The
   key goals Israel want to achieve could be achieved by other means."
 * Sullivan said Israel hasn't presented the U.S. with a plan as to where the
   civilians sheltering in Rafah are supposed to go, or who will feed and house
   them. Additionally, he said an invasion will make it harder to get aid into
   Gaza via Egypt.

Behind the scenes: The possible operation in Rafah was a key issue in the phone
call between Biden and Netanyahu on Monday — their first in over a month.

 * Biden told Netanyahu that while he shares the goal of destroying Hamas, there
   must be a coherent strategy to do that, Sullivan said. 
 * "Instead of a pause to reevaluate the campaign and see what adjustments are
   needed, instead of a focus on stabilizing the areas Israel has cleared so
   that Hamas doesn't resurface, the Israeli government is talking about a major
   military operation in Rafah," Sullivan said.

What's next: Biden proposed that Netanyahu send a team of senior military,
intelligence and policy officials to Washington to hear the U.S. concerns and
lay out an alternative approach that will not include a major ground invasion,
Sullivan said.


 * Netanyahu agreed, and the delegation will arrive Washington later this week
   or early next week, Sullivan said.
 * "We want to have a strategic discussion about how to defeat Hamas in a way
   that will be long-term. There are ways to defeat Hamas without smashing into
   Rafah," Sullivan said.

Meanwhile, Sullivan confirmed for the first time that Hamas' number three
commander, Marwan Issa, was killed in an Israeli operation last week.

 * He said the rest of the group's leaders are in hiding in the tunnels.
   "Justice will come for them too and we are helping to ensure that", Sullivan
   said.

What to watch: Israeli officials arrived in Qatar on Monday for negotiations
over a hostage deal that could lead to a six-week ceasefire in Gaza.

G0 deeper: Famine imminent in northern Gaza, report finds

Share on facebook (opens in new window)
Share on twitter (opens in new window)
Share on linkedin (opens in new window)
Share on email (opens in new window)





GO DEEPER

 * Shauneen Miranda

Mar 17, 2024 - Politics & Policy


U.S. DOESN'T "AGREE WITH EVERYTHING" ISRAEL DOES, BUT ELECTIONS UP TO THEM:
KIRBY



White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said Sunday that
it's up to the Israeli people and their government to decide to hold new
elections, days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged such a
move occur.

The big picture: Schumer levied some of the harshest criticism yet of Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a senior U.S. official, as discontent
grows among President Biden and members of his administration about the prime
minister's policies.

Go deeper (1 min. read)
Share on facebook (opens in new window)
Share on twitter (opens in new window)
Share on linkedin (opens in new window)
Share on email (opens in new window)

 * Barak Ravid

Mar 17, 2024 - Politics & Policy


TRUMP SAYS ISRAEL SHOULD QUICKLY END THE GAZA WAR, "WE NEED PEACE"

Trump says Israel should quickly end the Gaza war, "we need peace"

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks
during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. (Photo
by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP)

Former President Donald Trump called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza quickly during an interview with Fox News
Channel's "MediaBuzz."

Why it matters: This is the first time Trump has called to end the war in Gaza
since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7.

Go deeper (1 min. read)
Share on facebook (opens in new window)
Share on twitter (opens in new window)
Share on linkedin (opens in new window)
Share on email (opens in new window)
 * Barak Ravid

Updated Mar 17, 2024 - Politics & Policy


NETANYAHU WON'T COMMIT TO ELECTIONS, CALLS SCHUMER'S SPEECH "INAPPROPRIATE"

Netanyahu won't commit to elections, calls Schumer's speech "inappropriate"

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waits for the start of the Israeli
war cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023. (Photo by Brendan
Smialowski / AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to commit to holding new
elections once the war in Gaza winds down during an interview with CNN's "State
of the Union" on Sunday, rebuking the call from Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer (D-N.Y.) last week.

Why it matters: Recent polls in Israel showed that more than 65% of Israelis
support early elections when the war is over, and that if elections were held
today Netanyahu and his coalition would be defeated.

Go deeper (2 min. read)
Share on facebook (opens in new window)
Share on twitter (opens in new window)
Share on linkedin (opens in new window)
Share on email (opens in new window)


NEWS WORTHY OF YOUR TIME.

Download the app


ABOUT

 * About Axios
 * Advertise with us
 * Careers
 * Events
 * Axios on HBO
 * Axios HQ
 * Privacy and terms
 * Accessibility Statement
 * Online tracking choices
 * Your Privacy Choices
 * Contact us


SUBSCRIBE

 * Axios newsletters
 * Axios Pro
 * Axios app
 * Axios podcasts
 * Courses


Axios Homepage