US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken assured Israeli President Isaac Herzog that the United States will not support any ground military operation in Rafah without a plan that guarantees the safety of more than a million displaced people there.

The US State Department said in a statement on Saturday, “Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Munich on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Secretary Blinken reiterated that the United States cannot support a ground military operation in Rafah without a credible and implementable plan to ensure the safety of more than a million people taking refuge there.”

It added, "Secretary Blinken discussed with President Herzog the ongoing efforts to secure the release of the hostages and achieve a humanitarian truce that would help increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza."

An American official said on Friday that the Biden administration believes that the Israeli military operation in Rafah is a disaster that is best avoided, according to Politico newspaper. White House envoy David Satterfield said that President Joe Biden believes that preventing Hamas from emerging victorious is important for Israel, the region, and the United States.

In a related context, the International Court of Justice ruled on Friday that Israel’s plans to attack Rafah do not require additional temporary measures against Israel that South Africa had previously requested.

Pretoria called on the International Court of Justice to exercise its authority "to prevent further imminent violations of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza and to verify whether the operation does not violate the court's decision issued in late January."

South Africa's request indicated that more than a million people were displaced to Rafah, many of them "under the orders of the Israeli army to evacuate homes and areas that were completely destroyed by Israel," and that these people are now directly threatened.

The request added that the unprecedented military operation against Rafah, as Israel announced, had already led to wider killing, damage and destruction, and would continue to do so “in serious and irreparable violation” of the Genocide Convention and the ruling of the International Court of Justice issued last January.