Blinken Meets With Netanyahu as U.S.-Israel Tensions Rise

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken warned during a visit to Israel on Friday that the country’s plans to press ahead with an invasion of Rafah risked isolating the country, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to resist U.S. calls for restraint.

The Biden administration was accelerating efforts to halt the Gaza war as Mr. Blinken met with Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv and the C.I.A. director traveled to Qatar, where mediators were trying to narrow gaps between Israel and Hamas over a cease-fire deal that would free Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Mr. Blinken met with Mr. Netanyahu and with members of Israel’s war cabinet at a time of high tension between the allies. U.S. officials have grown more vocal in criticizing Mr. Netanyahu’s war strategy, including his plan to mount a military offensive in Rafah, the southern Gazan city packed with displaced civilians.

But the Biden administration has stopped short of placing restrictions on military aid to Israel. Although it backed a U.N. Security Council resolution on Friday calling for an immediate cease-fire — a measure that failed to pass — it has also not demanded a permanent stop to Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

In a statement after their meeting, Mr. Netanyahu said that he had repeated to Mr. Blinken that Israel recognized the need to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian aid for Gaza but was determined to send troops into Rafah, where well-organized Hamas forces remain.

“We have no way to defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and eliminating the rest of the battalions there,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “And I told him that I hope we will do it with the support of the U.S. But if we must — we will do it alone.”