President Joe Biden warned Israel against launching a military operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip without a “credible” plan to protect civilians, the White House said on Sunday.
Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday amid Israeli plans to launch an attack in the area bordering Egypt in the south of the Strip.
But despite the call, Netanyahu appeared defiant during an interview with ABC News on Sunday.
Netanyahu stresses Rafah plans; Follow the latest Middle East
Speaking to the American network, he said: “We will do that. We will get what remains of the Hamas terrorist brigades in Rafah.”
Netanyahu said that the Israel Defense Forces believe that there are four Hamas cells operating inside Rafah.
But he stressed that the Israeli army would only carry out the operation “while providing safe passage for the civilian population,” without indicating when it might take place.
Joe Biden inside the White House on February 9. Photo: AP
It sparked recent Israeli military strategy Widespread condemnation around the world.
Biden previously said that Israel's response to the October 7 attacks was “exaggerated.”
Egypt, which has borders with the region and runs the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, said such an attack violates international law and risks spreading the refugee crisis to its territory.
It threatened to suspend the peace treaty with Israel, the Camp David Accords, which are considered a major source of stability in the Middle East, if Netanyahu goes ahead with his plan.
When Israeli ground forces entered Gaza for the first time last year, they told residents of the Strip to evacuate the north in less than 24 hours and move south towards areas such as Rafah.
Some 1.4 million Gazans have now been moved there, most of them in makeshift camps or “tent cities.”
Displaced Palestinians take shelter in a tent camp in Rafah. Photo: Reuters
Israeli bombing site in Rafah. Photo: Reuters
In response to a question about where these people are expected to move to again, Netanyahu said that there are areas north of the city of Rafah “that have already been cleared by the Israeli army.”
During his interview with ABC News, Netanyahu claimed that failure to act in Rafah would lead to Israel losing the war.
But he said that if the operation was completed, “victory was near.”
When asked about the meaning of victory, he added: “You do not have to kill all the terrorists… You have to dismantle Hamas as a military force.”
Families take shelter on the Gaza border with Egypt in Rafah, south of the Strip, on February 10. Photo: Reuters
He was also questioned about the remaining Israeli hostages still inside Gaza. In response, he said he believed there were enough people still missing “to justify the kind of efforts we are making.”
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, most of them women and children, and more than 67,000 people have been injured.
Israel declared war after several thousand Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel, killing 1,300 people and taking 250 hostage, not all of whom survived.
