Israel Tells US It Wants to Reschedule Scrapped Rafah Meeting, NBC Reports

(Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has told the White House it wants to reschedule a canceled meeting on a planned Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, NBC reported on Wednesday, citing a U.S. official.

Netanyahu said on Monday he would not send the delegation after the U.S. refrained from vetoing a U.N. Security Council proposal calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. This, he said, was a “clear retreat” from the previous U.S. position.

NBC said senior U.S. administration officials were working with Israel to find a date for a meeting.

The White House said last week it intended to share with Israeli officials alternatives for eliminating the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza without a ground offensive in Rafah that Washington says would be a “disaster.”

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub and David Ljunggren)

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