After Hamas' approval, Washington reveals its moves to establish a truce

US State Department spokesman Samuel Warburg said that the United States is closely following Israeli preparations for a military operation in Rafah, stressing that there is “grave concern about the humanitarian impacts of such operations.”

The American comment comes after the Israeli army took control of the vital Rafah border crossing between the Palestinian Strip and Egypt, following the Israeli war cabinet’s decision to continue the Rafah operation “in order to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to promote the release of the hostages and achieve the other goals of the war.”

Regarding the nature of what Washington is doing to discourage its ally from moving forward with this operation, Warberg added that “coordination between the American and Israeli government is ongoing,” pointing out that the Israeli government has been informed of the United States’ position that it “does not support a large-scale military operation in Rafah as it does.” It is currently planned without a realistic plan to move civilians out of harm’s way, given the great risks that may ensue and its impact on the humanitarian situation.”

Regarding the course of the negotiations, the US State Department spokesman explained, “The obstacles were mainly represented by Hamas’ reluctance to accept the offers that were put forward for a ceasefire for a long period, before Hamas recently issued a response to the truce proposals.”

He continued: "We are currently reviewing this response in consultation with our partners in the region."