United States officials met Israeli counterparts to outline their concerns about the situation in the embattled city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and an expected military offensive there, the White House confirmed on Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch an Israeli ground assault against Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, which is now packed with hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees who fled Israeli attacks elsewhere in the territory.
The US, Germany and other Israeli allies have been urging restraint instead and warning against the fallout from a direct attack on the city, which is located on the border with Egypt.
The White House said in a statement that US officials "expressed concerns with various courses of action in Rafah, and Israeli participants agreed to take these concerns into account and to have further follow up discussions between experts."
"The two sides agreed on the shared objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah," the statement added. "Participants will meet again soon."
The group, consisting of representatives from both sides, was convened "to consult on a series of issues in the wake of Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack against Israel," the White House said.
The meeting was led on the US side by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The Israeli side was represented by National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Minster for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.
Prior to the major Iranian air attack on Israel over the weekend, Netanyahu had announced last week that the assault on Rafah had already been scheduled.
However, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant contradicted Netanyahu's remarks shortly afterwards.
Israel has been at war in the Gaza Strip since October 7 last year, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas led unprecedented deadly attacks on Israel that included brutal massacres of civilians and left more than 1,200 dead.
More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip over the past six months, according to the health ministry there, which is controlled by Hamas.