Israel Has Not Set A Date For Rafah Operation, Axios

Barak Ravid at Axios reporting that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant told U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a phone call on Monday that Israel has not yet set a date for an operation in Rafah, according to a source with knowledge of the call.

• The source told Ravid that Gallant said to Austin that Israel would have to carry out, "several necessary actions before an operation in Rafah, mainly an orderly evacuation of the civilian population and an increase in humanitarian aid."
• The Axios report appears to support US assertations that a Rafah ground invasion is not imminent and runs counter to statements this week from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has twice reiterated that an operation will take place and a date has been set.
• The mixed reporting may indicate that Netanyahu's comments are designed more to appease hardliners in his government rather as a statement of intent.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a short time ago, at a press conference alongside British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, that Israel hasn’t notified the US about a date for an operation in Rafah and said plans to hold interagency talks with an Israeli delegation on alternatives for a Rafah operation will take place next week.