Israel has agreed to hear the concerns and thoughts of the US before an invasion of Gaza’s Rafah, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Sunday.

On Wednesday, a senior Israeli military official insisted that the Israeli military plans to remove Palestinian civilians from Rafah and attack Hamas positions there despite international warnings of humanitarian disaster.

Washington has signaled that it does not intend to support an operation in Rafah without a proper and credible humanitarian plan.

“They have assured us that they will not go to Rafa until we have had an opportunity to share our perspective and concerns together,” Kirby told the ABC.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is due to visit the region next week and Kirby said he would continue to press for a temporary ceasefire which Washington wants to last at least six weeks.

A Hamas delegation will go to Cairo tomorrow for talks aimed at securing a ceasefire, a Hamas official told Reuters.

“What we’re hoping is that after six weeks of a temporary truce we might be able to put something longer in place. The Israelis are starting to meet the commitments that President Biden has asked of them,” Kirby said, noting that the number of trucks has started to increase with humanitarian aid crossing into northern Gaza.