Report: US agrees to Israel's Rafah plan in return for avoiding major strike on Iran

Egyptian officials have told a Qatari news outlet that the U.S. has accepted Israel’s plan for an operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in return for Israel not carrying out a large strike on Iran in response to Tehran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack.

A U.S. National Security Council spokesperson however said that the report is not true and that such a plan has never been discussed.

“The American administration showed acceptance of the plan previously presented by the occupation government regarding the military operation in Rafah, in exchange for not carrying out a large-scale attack against Iran,” an unnamed official told al-Araby al-Jadeed.

The Egyptian officials told the outlet that preparations are underway so that Egypt can deal with any possible impact of the planned operation.

Four Hamas battalions are believed to be stationed in Rafah along with over a million civilians sheltering there after fleeing fighting in other parts of the Strip. Rafah is also thought to be where Hamas leaders are hiding, possibly along with Israeli hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has several times claimed to have approved plans for a Rafah operation and more recently said that a date has been decided for the launch.