US Encouraged by Israeli Changes to Plans for Rafah Operation
- Israel updated plans over humanitarian concerns, official says
- Any ground invasion still poses political risks for Biden
Children stand near a crater caused by a bombardment in a street in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 18.
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The US has softened its earlier resistance to a broader Israeli military operation in Rafah following efforts by Israel to reduce the civilian toll of the assault, a US official said.
The shift followed weeks of warnings by President Joe Biden that a full-scale attack on the Gaza Strip border city where hundreds of thousands have taken shelter would prompt the US to suspend the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel.