US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stopped short of calling on Israel not to strike Rafah, after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “alarmed” by the prospects of the operation, but voiced concern, AFP reports.

“Israel has the responsibility — has the obligation — to do everything possible to ensure civilians are protected,” Blinken said.

Any “military operation that Israel undertakes needs to put civilians first and foremost in mind”, he said of Rafah. Blinken said he told Netanyahu and other officials that the death toll each day in Gaza “remains too high”.

He said he also voiced alarm to Netanyahu about “actions and rhetoric” by members of his far-right government that “inflame tensions that undercut international support and place greater restraints on Israel’s security”.

“Israelis were dehumanised in the most horrific way on October 7. The hostages have been demonised every day since,” Blinken said. “But that cannot be a licence to dehumanise others. The overwhelming majority of people in Gaza had nothing to do with the attacks on October 7.”