The Israeli security cabinet is said to have given the green light overnight to a plan aimed at broadening the operational zone in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, sources told Axios' correspondent Barak Ravid on Friday.
According to the people familiar with the matter, this plan represents a "measured expansion" that would not cross US President Joe Biden's "red line" as the sources described it. However, one of the sources cautioned that specific actions approved by the security cabinet last night might potentially represent a "red line" for the US president.
Namely, the security cabinet instructed the Israeli delegation to continue efforts to reach an agreement that would secure the release of hostages from the Gaza Strip. The sources told the Axios journalist that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich voted against this.
