On video: Documentation of the elimination of a commander in the operations department of the Rafah area 3/13/24/doc
The United States will support a military operation in Rafah that will focus on eliminating senior members of Hamas, the American news site "Politico" reported today (Thursday).
According to the report, senior officials in the United States told their Israeli counterparts that the Biden administration would support such an operation, as long as Israel avoids a large-scale invasion that would significantly harm the Palestinian citizens of the city, which could lead to the termination of the United States' protection of Israel at the United Nations.
The Biden administration is still debating the type of operation it is willing to accept in Rafah, while on the other hand Israel has made it clear that it wants to eliminate the four remaining battalions in Rafah.
In recent weeks, Biden has expressed concern about Israeli military action in Rafah and demanded from Netanyahu that Israel present a reliable and workable plan to protect the citizens there, and in an interview held last Saturday he stated that military action in Rafah is a red line for the White House, something that conflicts with Netanyahu's position.
will support the operation in Rafah as long as it does not cause great harm to the Palestinian citizens.
Joe Biden/Reuters
Senior American officials have said in recent days that an Israeli operation in Rafah will most likely lead to a significant change in American policy - including the end of the US's automatic protection of Israel in UN institutions and the imposition of restrictions on the use of American weapons by the IDF in Gaza.
More than a million Palestinians are concentrated in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip - most of them have been displaced from their homes several times since the beginning of the war. Prime Minister Netanyahu said that his red line is that Israel must carry out a military operation in Rafah.
In the last telephone conversation between Biden and Netanyahu on February 15, the President of the United States expressed concern about an Israeli operation in Rafah. In the weeks that have passed since then, there have been several discussions in the White House regarding a scenario of Israeli action in Rafah and the bottom line was that the Biden administration cannot allow such an action to take place - this is what senior American officials said. The
explanation in the Biden administration was that Israel cannot implement an evacuation plan for Rafah in a way that would prevent massive harm to Palestinian civilians According to today's report, if they find a way to protect the Palestinian citizens staying in the city, the American government will support such an operation.
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More than a million Palestinians are concentrated in the city.
Ruins in the city of Rafah/Reuters
Netanyahu claimed this week in an interview with the FOX network that a quarter of Hamas' fighting force is in Rafah and therefore Israel should enter the city and destroy the Hamas battalions stationed there.
"Avoiding action in Rafah would be similar to the decision of the Allies in World War II not to enter Berlin and leave a quarter of the Nazi army in place," Netanyahu said.
The White House Deputy Spokesperson, Olivia Dalton, said in a press briefing that Biden made it clear in an interview with MSNBC that the Rafah operation must not be carried out without a workable plan to maintain the safety of the citizens who find shelter in the city.
"So far we have not seen such a program," she said.
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Benjamin Netanyahu
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