WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Monday “reiterated his clear position” to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a ground invasion of Rafah, a key city in southern Gaza, the White House said. The call took place after Israel defied US warnings and told Palestinians to evacuate part of the Rafah city, AFP reported.
The call between the two leaders comes as Biden intensifies diplomatic efforts to revive Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. Jordan’s King Abdullah II is scheduled to visit the White House for talks.
Biden’s position against a Rafah invasion was initially communicated to Netanyahu in April, with Washington making it clear that such a move would be deemed a mistake. The White House reiterated that any offensive action must be accompanied by a credible plan to protect the more than 1.2 million Palestinian civilians residing in Rafah.
Earlier, a spokesman for the US National Security Council announced the Biden-Netanyahu call, saying “We have made our views clear on a major ground invasion of Rafah to the Israeli government.”
“The president reiterated his clear position on Rafah,” the White House stated, also noting that Biden updated Netanyahu on negotiations aimed at securing the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants.
Efforts to broker a ceasefire have faced significant challenges, with negotiations stalling following the latest rocket strike. Biden’s meeting with King Abdullah II is expected to focus on strategies to advance ceasefire talks and mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Western media reported that prospects for a Gaza truce appeared slim on Sunday as Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to the ongoing war in exchange for the freeing of captives, and the Israeli Prime Minister completely ruled that out.
The two parties accused each other of the stalemate and the Hamas delegation said it would leave Egypt ceasefire talks on Sunday night to consult with its top leadership. However, the Hamas planned to return to Cairo on Tuesday, Reuters cited sources.
On their second day of negotiations with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Hamas’s negotiators said that their position that any ceasefire agreement must end the war, Palestinian officials stated.
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell on Monday condemned Israel’s order for Palestinians living in eastern Rafah to flee the southern Gazan city ahead of an expected ground invasion.
“Israel’s evacuation orders to civilians in Rafah portend the worst: more war and famine. It is unacceptable. Israel must renounce to a ground offensive,” Borrell wrote in English on X, formerly Twitter. “The EU, with the International Community, can and must act to prevent such scenario,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gaza civil defence and aid officials said on Monday that Israeli jets struck two areas in eastern Rafah the Israeli military had ordered to be evacuated. “The areas targeted by the Israeli occupation are near the perimeter of Gaza International Airport, the Al-Shuka area, the Abu Halawa area, the Salaheddin street area and the Salam neighbourhood,” Gaza Civil Defence Agency spokesman Ahmed Ridwan told AFP. Meanwhile, another aid official confirmed the Israeli strikes.
Earlier today, the Israeli army had ordered Palestinians in eastern Rafah to evacuate from the area. A spokesperson for the Israeli army told the media that it is evacuating about 100,000 people from eastern Rafah, ahead of an expected ground offensive. The world has warned Israel that a military operation in Rafah would be “catastrophic”.
The new development took place as the Israeli troops have started pounding Rafah, where over a million Palestinians are taking shelter, killing around 21 civilians, media reported earlier on Monday.
Emergency services said that seven people from one family and nine from another were martyred in the Israeli air strikes. Health source said that Israeli strikes took place in two different areas in the bordering city.
On Sunday, at least three Israeli soldiers were killed in a Hamas rocket attack, near the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Hamas’s military wing claimed responsibility for an attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza on Sunday.
Gaza health ministry said that over 34,600 Palestinians have been killed mostly women and children in brutal Israeli strikes since October 7. Similarly, more than 78,000 people including women and children have been wounded in Israel’s air strikes.
