US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has called on his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant to consider alternatives to a ground offensive in the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. The Department of Defence in Washington said in a statement that Austin had told Gallant in a phone call on Wednesday that Israel needed to consider options other than a major ground operation in Rafah. Austin also reportedly reiterated the urgent need to do more to protect the civilian population, to ensure the safety of US military personnel establishing a temporary port on the Gaza coast and to expand the tra…