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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/world/middleeast/blinken-netanyahu-israel-cease-fire.html
Netanyahu Tells Visiting Secretary of State Blinken: "We Have No Way to Defeat Hamas without Going into Rafah"
(New York Times) Michael Crowley - Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Israeli leaders on Friday to discuss the country's plans to press ahead with an invasion of Rafah in Gaza. U.S. officials have grown more vocal in criticizing Israel's war strategy, but the Biden administration has stopped short of placing restrictions on military aid to Israel. It has also not demanded a permanent stop to Israel's military offensive in Gaza. After their meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had repeated to Blinken that Israel recognized the need to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian aid for Gaza but was determined to send troops into Rafah, where well-organized Hamas forces remain. "We have no way to defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and eliminating the rest of the battalions there," Netanyahu said. "I told him that I hope we will do it with the support of the U.S., but if we must - we will do it alone." A member of Israel's war cabinet, Benny Gantz, thanked Blinken "for his support for Israel and the deep American commitment to its security." Gantz - a longtime political rival of Netanyahu - said he had emphasized that Israel must "dismantle Hamas' military infrastructure, including in Rafah." Blinken said in Cairo on Thursday that Israel had taken positive steps in recent weeks to allow more humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza.