Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he informed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Israeli army "will enter Rafah" without Washington's approval.

Netanyahu added after meeting Blinken: "I met with Secretary of State Blinken today. I told him that I greatly appreciate the fact that we have stood together for more than five months in the war against Hamas. I also told him that we recognize the need to evacuate densely populated civilian areas from combat zones and of course, we also care about humanitarian needs and we are working to achieve this goal."

He added: "But I also said that there is no way for us to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah and eliminating the remaining brigades there. I told him that I hope we do this with the support of the United States, but if we have to, we will do it alone."

Blinken met with Netanyahu today, Friday, for talks aimed at ensuring the flow of more aid to Gaza, amid increasing tensions in relations between the allies due to the ongoing war for nearly six months with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

Blinken, who is on his sixth visit to the Middle East since the outbreak of the war on October 7, engaged in an intense round of diplomatic efforts since he arrived in the region on Wednesday, meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, and with Arab foreign ministers and officials in Cairo yesterday, Thursday.

Parallel meetings are also being held in Doha today, Friday, aiming to reach a ceasefire.

Blinken’s latest visit to Israel comes amid strained relations with the United States, as US President Joe Biden described the Israeli campaign in Gaza as "going too far" and said it caused heavy civilian casualties.

Before the roughly 40-minute meeting with Netanyahu, Blinken said he would discuss the widening gap between the two countries during their direct talks. He also met with the Israeli war cabinet.

Blinken said he would pressure Netanyahu to take urgent steps to allow more aid into the densely populated enclave, which the United Nations says is on the verge of mass starvation due to famine.

Russian-Chinese veto against the US move at the Security Council

Meanwhile, Russia and China on Friday used their veto power in the United Nations Security Council against a US draft resolution that supported a call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas linked to the release of hostages held in the enclave.

The draft resolution received the support of 11 of the 15 council members, while three countries — China, Russia, and Algeria — opposed it, and Guyana abstained from voting.

The Russian delegate considered the Washington-backed draft resolution, which supports Israel, to be "hypocritical" and does not directly call for an end to the war that has continued for more than five months.