US President Joe Biden and Egypt’s Foreign Ministry warned Israel against a military operation in Gaza’s Rafah, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned to the American media to explain that such a step is a necessity for an Israeli victory against Hamas.
Biden spoke about the matter directly with Netanyahu in a phone call, that followed public statements the White House had made on the matter.
Biden “reaffirmed his view that a military operation in Gaza should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million people sheltering there,” the White House said after the call.
Netanyahu responded that the Rafah operation is necessary but would take place only after civilians had been evacuated, according to an Israeli source.
The US president also emphasized to Netanyahu the importance of “urgent and specific steps” to increase humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.
Biden spoke in advance of hosting Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House on Monday, where the monarch is expected to press the US to support an immediate ceasefire.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry separately warned of “the dire consequences of such action,” which it said risks “worsening the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.”
Egypt warns of 'dire consequences'
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry separately warned of “the dire consequences of such action,” which it said risks “worsening the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.”
It called on the international community to unite to prevent an IDF attack against Rafah, which is located close to its border and where over 1.3 million Palestinians are located, many of whom fled there to escape bombing in the northern part of the enclave.
In the last few days, unnamed Egyptian officials have also warned that the country’s 1979 peace treaty with Egypt could be in danger.
Israel’s push for a Rafah operation comes as it is under heavy international pressure to halt the war and amid growing tension with the Biden administration, which has not sought to hide its frustrations with Israel even as it continued to support its battle against Hamas.
On Thursday, Biden said that the IDF’s military operation in Gaza was already “over the top” and issued a security memorandum that linked military aid, including to Israel, with adherence to international humanitarian law in conflict zones.
The Biden administration has also been concerned about Israel’s future plans for Gaza, particularly in light of Netanyahu’s opposition to a Palestinian state there and calls by members of his government to rebuild the settlements the IDF withdrew from there in 2005.
Kan News reported that in light of the calls for Israel to retain control of Gaza, the Biden administration was considering declaring that West Bank settlements were illegal. Such a step would rescind a Trump administration declaration that the West Bank settlements were not inconsistent with international law.
Netanyahu told ABC that an Israeli victory in Gaza is contingent on a military operation in Rafah to destroy Hamas operations there.
“Those who say that under no circumstances should we enter Rafah are basically saying lose the war, keep Hamas there,” Netanyahu said..
“We’re going to get the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah, which is the last bastion, but we’re going to do it, and in this, I agree with the Americans, while providing safe passage for the civilian population so they can leave,” Netanyahu stated.
Israel, he said, is “working out a detailed plan to do so.”
“This is part of our war effort to get civilians out of harm’s way; it’s part of Hamas’s effort to keep them in harm’s way,” he noted.
“Victory is within reach,” Netanyahu stressed.
The UN, the EU, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, the US, and Jordan have all spoken out against such an operation, raising skepticism about the possibility of a credible plan to protect civilians.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron posted on X that he was “Deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah – over half of Gaza’s population are sheltering in the area.
“The priority must be an immediate pause in the fighting to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire,” he added.
United States Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told National Public Radio on Saturday night, “We have been absolutely clear that under the current circumstances in Rafah, a military operation now in that area cannot proceed.
“It would dramatically exacerbate the humanitarian emergency that we’re all seeking to alleviate right now. Israel has an obligation to ensure that civilians, that [Gaza’s] civilian population is safe and that they’re secure and that they have access to humanitarian aid and to basic services.
“And I think you heard the secretary, [of State Antony Blinken,] make those statements clearly during his meetings and in his engagements with the press when he was there,” she said.
Egypt has insisted that Palestinians may not be allowed to flee across its border and warned against the forcible displacement of the population.
In an interview with Israel Radio, Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter (Likud) said that Cairo had no say in what happened in Rafah, which is located near Egypt’s border with Gaza.
“Egypt has a lot to say until the Philadelphi Corridor,” Dichter said, as he explained that its treaty with Israel does give it input over actions that occur between its border and that buffer zone, but not in Rafah, which is in Gaza.“Egypt has no say about what happens Rafah,” Dichter said.
More to the point, he said, Israel had wanted to place Gaza, certainly Rafah, within Egypt’s borders, when it negotiated that treaty, but “Egypt did not agree to accept the Gaza Strip or part of it.”
In his interview with ABC, Netanyahu defended Israel’s treatment of civilians in combat zones in Gaza. Hamas has asserted that over 28,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war.
Netanyahu said that half of the Palestinians killed were terrorists, as he explained that the IDF was leading a precision operation that was unparalleled in military history when battling a non-state actor.
“We have brought down the civilian to terrorist casualties ratio, down to below one to one, which is considerably less than in any other theater of similar warfare,” he said.
“We have killed and wounded over 20,000 Hamas terrorists, out of that about 12,000 fighters. We are doing everything we can to minimize civilian casualties and continue to do so,” Netanyahu said.“What we are not going to do is to let Hamas emerge victorious, and if we leave it will be a tremendous victory for the Iran terror axis,” he said.
“It has to be understood and victory will be the best thing that will happen. I cannot see a future for Palestinians or peace in the Middle East if Hamas is victorious in Gaza,” he said.
Netanyahu doubled down on his insistence that the IDF must retain security control of Gaza and the West Bank.“We want to bring about the demilitarization of the [Gaza] strip. This requires our supreme security control and responsibility over the entire area west of Jordan, including the Gaza Strip. There is no substitute for it in the foreseeable future,” Netanyahu told his government ministers on Sunday during a visit to an army base.
“We say this to the international community, to the US president, to all the leaders. There is no substitute for that,” Netanyahu said.
The question of continued IDF control of Gaza after the war has been one of the sticking points between Israel and the increasing points of contention between Netanyahu and the Biden administration.
“We will always need to have security control. If that requires a stay inside, then we will stay inside [Gaza]. If it requires us to enter anywhere then the IDF will be able to arrive anywhere at any time,” Netanyahu stated.
The goal is “nothing less than total victory,” Netanyahu said, as he noted that Israel is facing mounting international opposition to its military campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza. “These pressures are increasing,” Netanyahu stated.During his interview with ABC, Netanyahu also spoke about his vision for a two-state solution.
“Everybody who talks about a two-state solution, I ask what do you mean by that?
“Should the Palestinians have an army? Can they sign a military pact with Iran? Can they import rockets from North Korea and other deadly weapons? Should they continue to educate their children for terrorism and annihilation – of course not.
“The substance in a future peace agreement, which everyone says is far off, is that the Palestinians should have the powers to govern themselves, but none of the powers to threaten Israel.
“The most important power that has to remain in Israel’s hands is the overriding security control in the area west of the Jordan, which includes Gaza. Otherwise, history has shown that terrorism comes back,” he said.