WASHINGTON: The White House said on Monday that US President Joe Biden will speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following Israel’s military directive for Palestinians to evacuate eastern Rafah, ahead of a possible ground invasion in the southern Gaza city.
Despite repeated assertions from Washington against an invasion of Rafah without a comprehensive plan to safeguard Palestinian civilians, Israel proceeded with its announcement, prompting swift reactions from the Biden administration.
“We cannot speak for IDF operations. We have made our views clear on a major ground invasion of Rafah to the Israeli government, and the president will speak with the prime minister today,” stated a spokesman for the National Security Council, emphasizing the administration’s stance.
The White House reiterated its belief that pursuing negotiations for a hostage deal remains the most viable option to protect the lives of hostages and avert a large-scale invasion of Rafah, where a significant population is seeking refuge. “We continue to believe that a hostage deal is the best way to preserve the lives of the hostages, and avoid an invasion of Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering. “Those talks are ongoing now.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s military call for evacuation followed heightened tensions and disagreements between Israel and Hamas over ceasefire negotiations, which faced significant obstacles during talks held in Cairo over the weekend.
Consultations between the United States and Qatar, which like Egypt are mediating the talks, were expected on Monday in Doha, but state-linked media in Egypt said negotiations had stalled after the rocket strike.
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell 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 a 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.
Meanwhile, 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.
