Israeli Defense Minister Tells Austin, No Date Yet for Rafah Invasion

April 11—The Times of Israel, citing “a source familiar with the matter,” reports yesterday  that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a phone call on April 8 that Israel has not set a date for the launch of a major ground offensive on Rafah, thus contradicting the video statement made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that same day, in which he said a date had been set.

Gallant told Austin, the source reported, that Israel is still finalizing its plans to evacuate the roughly 1.5 million Palestinians currently sheltering in Rafah after fleeing the fighting areas to the north, the source said on Tuesday, confirming reporting in Axios and Haaretz.