US again warns Israel against Rafah offensive

US officials person again raised concerns with their Israeli counterparts astir Israel's plans for subject operations successful the confederate Gaza metropolis of Rafah.

The White House said representatives of Israel's premier curate had agreed "to instrumentality these concerns into account".

The US has repeatedly urged Israel not to motorboat a large violative successful Rafah to debar much civilian casualties successful Gaza.

Separately, the US vetoed a UN solution to assistance afloat subordinate presumption to a State of Palestine.

In different development, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to "discuss determination threats and Iran's destabilising actions successful the Middle East".

They besides discussed "the value of expanding and sustaining the travel of humanitarian assistance to Gazan civilians, including via the caller way from Ashdod Port successful Israel".

The Israeli subject says it has struck dozens of targets successful Gaza, a time aft wide Israeli bombing of the cardinal portion of the portion arsenic good arsenic Gaza City successful the north.

Qatar - which has played a large mediating relation successful truce talks - said earlier that ceasefire negotiations had stalled.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently vowed to transportation retired an violative successful Rafah - wherever much than a cardinal Palestinians are sheltering - arsenic a adjacent measurement successful subject actions against Hamas.

The US, Israel's closest ally, has been pressing Israel not to behaviour a wide violative successful Rafah but to alternatively instrumentality a much targeted approach.

The warfare successful Gaza erupted erstwhile Hamas-led gunmen carried retired an unprecedented onslaught connected confederate Israel connected 7 October, sidesplitting astir 1,200 people, chiefly civilians, and taking 253 others backmost to Gaza arsenic hostages.

At slightest 33,970 radical person been killed successful Gaza since then, the bulk of them women and children, according to the territory's Hamas-run wellness ministry, during Israel's subject run to destruct Hamas and merchandise hostages.

A White House readout of Thursday's gathering said Rafah was the absorption of discussions on with Iran's unprecedented drone and rocket onslaught connected Israel past week.

"The 2 sides agreed connected the shared nonsubjective to spot Hamas defeated successful Rafah. US participants expressed concerns with assorted courses of enactment successful Rafah," the connection said.

It said they had agreed to person follow-up discussions betwixt experts and would conscionable again soon.

Israel did not instantly remark connected Thursday's meeting, which followed akin talks connected 1 April.

At the time, US officials reportedly told the Israelis their readying for Rafah was insufficient for evacuating and protecting Palestinian civilians sheltering determination aft being forced to fly their homes.

The solution to assistance afloat UN subordinate presumption to a State of Palestine was vetoed by the US astatine a gathering of the Security Council.

The Palestinian Authority has had perceiver presumption since 2012 but cannot ballot successful proceedings.

Twelve members voted successful favour of the solution - including France, Japan and South Korea - portion the US was the lone subordinate voting against, with 2 abstentions, by the UK and Switzerland.

It was a unilateral enactment the US had been keen to debar if it perchance could, with reports of aggravated behind-the-scenes lobbying successful beforehand of the ballot successful the anticipation of winning implicit immoderate different Security Council members to its side.

Explaining his country's veto, the US lawman ambassador, Robert Wood, insisted Washington continued to powerfully enactment a two-state solution, but that immoderate alteration successful presumption for a State of Palestine astatine the UN should lone travel arsenic portion of a negotiated colony with Israel.

The Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said his radical had a "natural right" to self-determination.

"The radical of Palestine volition not disappear," helium added. "We volition not disappear. The radical of Palestine volition not beryllium buried. They are a humanities fact. They are a past that cannot beryllium erased nary substance the large power, nary substance the tyranny."

Israel's envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan, thanked the US for "standing up for information and morality successful the look of hypocrisy and politics" and accused different countries who had backed the solution of deciding to "reward Palestinian panic with Palestinian state".

According to Russia's envoy, Vassily Nebenzya, the US had "demonstrated their existent cognition towards the Palestinians". To Washington, they don't merit to person their ain state," helium added. "They are lone an obstacle to the realization of Israel's interests."

The UK's envoy, Barbara Woodward, said: "We judge that specified designation of Palestinian statehood should not travel astatine the commencement of a caller process, but it doesn't person to beryllium astatine the precise extremity of the process. We indispensable commencement with fixing the contiguous situation successful Gaza."