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Israel has indicated that it will take into account US concerns about the planned Israeli offensive on Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. The White House reports this after a virtual meeting between Israeli and American officials.

An Israeli delegation should have traveled to Washington last week to discuss Rafah. Ultimately, Israel canceled the visit after the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip without US opposition. A virtual meeting took place on Monday.

During the two-hour “constructive” conversation, the US “expressed concerns about several plans of action for Rafah,” the White House said in a press release. “The Israeli side has agreed to take those concerns into account and hold talks between experts soon.”

A “physical meeting” would be possible “starting next week”, the White House said.

On the US side, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken participated in the conversation. For the Israelis, these were Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzahi Hanegbi.

The US, an ally of Israel, opposes a large-scale ground offensive in Rafah because hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians reside there.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh stated earlier in the day that the purpose of the meeting was “to understand what their plans are for any kind of operation in Rafah, how they are going to move and where they are going to conduct operations in a very densely populated region, with more than a million people”.