Greater Middle East (bbabo.net), - The United States and Israel will hold a high-level virtual meeting on Thursday about a possible Israeli operation in Rafah, two American officials said. This was reported today, April 18, in the evening by the Axios website.

The Biden administration remains concerned that the Israeli incursion into Rafah will cause widespread civilian casualties, US officials said.

Intriguingly, officials have flatly denied reports that the Biden administration has given the green light for the Rafah operation if Israel refuses to strike Iran in retaliation for Sunday's unprecedented attack.

Axios emphasizes that this will be the second such meeting in recent weeks. A face-to-face meeting in Washington earlier this week was postponed due to the Iranian attack.

The American side at the virtual meeting will be led by White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. The Israeli side will be led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi.

Over the past few weeks, several lower-level working groups have held virtual meetings to discuss the Israeli army's operational plans for Rafah and humanitarian aspects, US officials said.

A US official said the plans presented to the IDF in working groups included a gradual, slow operation in specific areas of Rafah from which civilians would be evacuated in advance, rather than an "all-out invasion of the entire city."

A US official said the humanitarian situation in Gaza had improved significantly since President Biden issued a sharp warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks ago.

“The Israelis have not yet achieved all the goals set by the president, but there are significant improvements,” the US official said.

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