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Concerns about a military offensive in Rafah are growing.
Biden and Netanyahu discuss a ceasefire.
There is still a lot to do for an agreement.
Washington, DC – President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Sunday for the first time in more than three weeks.
They met amid growing concerns in the US over Israel's plans to launch a major military operation in Rafah.
Around 1.4 million civilians are seeking protection there from the ongoing fighting in most of the Gaza Strip.
Much of the 45-minute conversation focused on a proposal for an extended humanitarian pause in the war between Israel and Hamas.
It would allow the release of hostages still held by the militant group, a senior government official said.
“Constant discussion” about the civilian population: USA does not support Rafah offensive for the time being
Protecting civilians in the Gaza Strip "is an ongoing discussion between us and the Israelis," even though Biden shares Israel's goal of defeating Hamas, the official said.
He briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House.
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How the civilian population would be spared from an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip's southernmost city "is a big question," the government official said.
Most people in Rafah moved there to escape fighting in other parts of the enclave.
They live in makeshift accommodation and are supported almost exclusively by the few humanitarian aid shipments that are allowed to enter across the Egyptian border.
“The president and the prime minister have discussed this quite extensively.
I think our position on this is very clear,” the official said.
The United States would not support such an operation unless Israel had a plan for the protection and care of civilians “that is actually planned, prepared and implemented.”
Biden finds fatalities “exaggerated” – Netanyahu affirms his view
In his clearest public statement yet, Biden told reporters on Thursday that Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip, which local health authorities say has claimed nearly 28,000 lives, was "excessive."
Sunday's conversation was the first between the two politicians since January 19th.
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US and Israel discussed proposing another humanitarian pause.
© IMAGO/ZUMA WIRE/Chuck Kennedy/US State
Hours before his phone call with Biden, Netanyahu said on
ABC
's "This Week" that Israel was doing "everything we can to minimize the number of civilian casualties.
… But one thing we will not do is we will not allow Hamas to win.”
Netanyahu wants to evacuate Rafah to the north - a precise plan is still pending
Asked how and where Israel plans to move more than a million people from Rafah to safety, Netanyahu referred to “the areas we cleared north of Rafah – there are a lot of areas there.
But we are working out a detailed plan to do this.”
The planning obviously still needs time.
“Those who say we should not invade Rafah under any circumstances are basically saying we should lose the war.
Leave Hamas there,” Netanyahu said.
Israel has claimed that senior Hamas leaders have moved their operations to the southern Gaza Strip to avoid Israeli attacks.
Agreements with Biden and Netanyahu prepare: Representatives continue to negotiate ceasefire in the Israel war
The telephone conversation between the two leaders took place ahead of CIA Director William J. Burns' trip to Cairo.
He plans to continue negotiations with Egypt and Qatar on Tuesday to implement a framework proposal for a pause in fighting to enable the release of hostages still held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
© Marc Israel Sellem/Imago
The proposal, sent to both sides of the conflict two weeks ago, calls for a six-week ceasefire that would allow the exchange of civilian hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, as well as a significant increase in humanitarian aid.
The United States hopes the initial pause will provide impetus for an extension that will allow the release of all hostages, including Israeli military personnel, as well as the bodies of more than two dozen of the approximately 1,200 people killed by Hamas militants, who invaded southern Israel on October 7th, triggering the current war.
Framework for ceasefire in Israel war “specified” according to US
“The framework is almost set,” said the high-ranking US government official.
“There are certainly gaps that need to be filled.
Some of these are significant.
But there has been real progress in recent weeks and we are now trying to do everything we can to capitalize on this.”
Hamas's response to the proposal, sent to negotiators last week, calls for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including some sentenced to long prison terms for serious crimes.
It also insisted that Israel withdraw all its troops from the Gaza Strip before talks on a second phase of releases can begin.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Tel Aviv at the time, called some of Hamas' demands "non-starters" but said the response created "leeway" to work with.
No rejection after talks: Biden and Netanyahu want to continue negotiating
Despite Netanyahu's public rejection of the proposal, "the framework is not rejected," the senior official said.
“There are gaps that need to be addressed and some of the differences are significant.
… But there has been really significant progress compared to where we were a month ago.”
US President Joe Biden.
© AdMedia/Imago
Outlining the paradoxical relationship between a possible Israeli ground offensive in Rafah and the prospects of a lull in fighting, the official said: “There will be no hostage deal unless Hamas is under significant pressure.
... This is something the Israelis tell us all the time.
We are content with this."
About the author
Karen DeYoung
is an associate editor and senior national security correspondent at The Post.
In more than three decades at the newspaper, she served as bureau chief in Latin America and London and as a White House, U.S. foreign policy and intelligence correspondent.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on February 12, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com
”
- as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.