One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's closest confidants, Ron Dermer, and Israel's national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, will head to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. officials, according to a statement obtained from Netanyahu's office. by CNN.
The statement did not say which U.S. officials the Israeli delegation will meet with or when the visit will take place. The White House said it expects the visit to take place early next week.
Dermer is currently a member of Israel's war cabinet and former ambassador to the United States.
The United States has been asking Israel to explain how it intends to keep safe more than a million Palestinians seeking refuge in southern Gaza, as Israel warns it will soon launch a military offensive in Rafah. So far, US President Joe Biden's administration says no plan has been presented.
The United States wants alternatives to Rafah: On Monday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that Biden had asked Netanyahu to send a team to Washington “to listen to US concerns about Israel's current planning in Rafah and design a alternative approach that would target key Hamas elements in Rafah and secure Egypt.” -Gaza border without a major ground invasion.”
But Tuesday's Israeli statement said Netanyahu “is determined to act in Rafah to finally eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions, while providing humanitarian solutions to the civilian population.”
The Israeli delegation will be accompanied by a representative, whose name was not named, for the Coordination of Israeli Government Actions in the Territories, according to the statement.
