Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said Israel would move forward with launching a ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah without U.S. support.
"I told [Secretary of State Antony] Blinken we recognize the need to evacuate the civilian population from war zones in Gaza and to take care of humanitarian needs and that we are taking action in this direction," Netanyahu said after his meeting with Blinken.
"But I also told Blinken that we can't defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and dismantling the remaining battalions there. I told him that I hope we can do it with U.S. support; but if we need to, we will do it on our own."
The U.S. and Israel have disagreed publicly over Rafah for weeks.
Blinken on Thursday said an attack on Rafah would be a "mistake" and "unnecessary."
On Friday, he warned Netanyahu and his War Cabinet that Israel's security and its place in the world are in peril, and "you might not realize it until it's too late," a source familiar with the meeting told Axios.
"You need a coherent plan, or either you're going to be stuck in Gaza," Blinken said, according to the source.
Netanyahu told Blinken that Israel "will have our hands full for decades."