Benjamin Netanyahu’s pronouncement that a date has been set for an offensive in Rafah has been dismissed by the Biden administration as an empty threat, according to reports.
Senior administration officials told CNN they believed his statement made earlier this week was bravado.
Publicly, US officials have said no date has been shared with them.
For context: The Israeli government has threatened for weeks to assault Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are sheltering.
Mr Netanyahu has previously said four Hamas battalions were using the city’s residents and displaced people as human shields.
Real danger of escalation on Lebanese border, says UN peacekeeper
The commander of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has said the danger of escalation on the Lebanon-Israel border is real.
UNIFIL’s Aroldo Lazaro called for the “cessation of hostilities, and a move towards a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the conflict”.
Lebanon and Israel have exchanged fire over the border since the start of the war in Gaza.
Most recently, Israel’s military said it killed a commander of Hezbollah’s secretive Radwan Force in southern Lebanon yesterday.
Israeli officials demand the Radwan Force withdraw from the border area in order to allow tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis to return home.
Hezbollah has said it will stop firing rockets into Israel once a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.
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