Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has agreed to postpone a planned meeting with U.S. and Israeli officials to discuss a possible Rafah operation, the White House confirmed Wednesday, just days after Netanyahu canceled the delegation.
“The Prime Minister’s Office has agreed to reschedule the Rafah meeting,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “So we are now working with them to find a suitable date which will obviously suit both parties, but his office has agreed to reschedule this meeting which would be dedicated to Rafah, which is a good thing.”
CNN reported earlier Wednesday that Netanyahu’s office had agreed to postpone the meeting, which an official said could take place as soon as next week, although no date has been set.
At Wednesday’s press briefing, the press secretary declined to say when the administration hoped to reschedule the meeting, but stressed that it was an “urgent” priority.
Netanyahu canceled the delegation’s planned trip this week over objections to the United States abstaining from a U.N. Security Council vote calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The United States had “constructive discussions with the Israeli defense minister over the past two days” and “Rafah was one of many topics discussed with Jake Sullivan, Tony Blinken, Lloyd Austin and Bill Burns,” he said. declared the manager.
An Israeli official told CNN he was rescheduling his visit to Washington to learn US ideas on how to target Hamas in Rafah.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.