On Monday, President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “reiterated his clear position on Rafah,” according to the White House.
The call lasted around 30 minutes and was “constructive,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
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The two presidents said a large Israeli military campaign in southern Gaza appears to be near, despite opposition from the US and other countries due to concerns over the region’s humanitarian plight.
On Monday, Israel Defense Forces advised 100,000 people in the southern Gaza city to flee and distributed flyers warning of danger. Israel’s shelling of the Gaza Strip is reportedly sheltering more than 1.4 million Palestinians in Rafah.
According to Kirby, Biden’s talk with Netanyahu “made clear our views about operations in Rafah that could potentially put more than a million innocent people at greater risk.”
The Pentagon said Monday that it has not seen a clear strategy for protecting civilians if Israel’s soldiers move into Rafah, as US officials have repeatedly urged.
Nonetheless, Netanyahu has committed to entering Rafah in order to eradicate the Hamas terrorist organization.
“We will destroy the Hamas battalions there; we will complete all the objectives of the war, including the repatriation of all our hostages,” Netanyahu stated last week.
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Israel felt it had “no choice” but to launch an offensive in Rafah.
In recent days, strikes have escalated in Rafah and nearby areas.
The IDF reported that Hamas staged a rocket strike on the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Sunday, killing at least four Israeli troops and injuring ten more.
In retaliation, Israel closed the border, which was crucial for transporting humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians. However, according to the White House, Netanyahu agreed to reopen the crossing for aid into northern Gaza during his talk with Biden.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, the IDF struck Rafah on Sunday, killing at least 12 Palestinians. Israel’s military said Monday that it continues to hit “terror targets” and military structures. The IDF stated that the “targeted” operations would resume on Tuesday.
During Monday’s call, Biden and Netanyahu also addressed efforts to reach a hostage agreement and temporary cease-fire in Doha, Qatar, where talks are ongoing.
Despite revealing few details, Hamas declared its acceptance of a cease-fire agreement hours after their talk. The United States confirmed that Hamas has responded to a recent cease-fire request, but it is still determining the specifics of the apparent agreement.
The White House mostly refrained from commenting on the idea while Israel prepared its response.
The war cabinet “unanimously decided that Israel continues the operation in Rafah,” according to a statement from the prime minister’s office, but they will send a delegation to “explore the possibility of reaching an agreement under conditions acceptable to Israel.”
