(JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Jewish state cannot defeat the Hamas terror organisation without going into and destroying the battalions in Rafah.

“I told him that I hope we would do this with US support but if necessary, we will do it alone,” Netanyahu said, after the two met privately on Friday in the Kirya in Tel Aviv, in a translation his office provided of his Hebrew statement.

Blinken is also slated to meet today with the expanded War Cabinet, according to Netanyahu’s office.

A schedule that the US State Department released stated that Blinken and Netanyahu were slated to meet at 11.15am Israel time, and that the broader meeting with the War Cabinet was called for 12.10pm local time.

Both were closed to press, according to the State Department.

The prime minister also told Blinken that he greatly appreciates that the two have stood together in the war against Hamas for more than five months.

“I also told him that we recognise the need to evacuate the civilian population from the combat zones and — of course — also see to the humanitarian needs,” Netanyahu added. “We are working to this end.”