Benjamin Netanyahu declared, in a Sunday interview with US media, “We’re going to do it. We are going to capture the last terrorist battalions of Hamas in Rafah.”
On Sunday, in the midst of Israel’s preparations for an offensive in the area south of the Gaza Strip that borders Egypt, Mr. Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu seemed defiant despite the call.
“We’re going to do it,” he declared, addressing the US network. We are going to capture the last terrorist battalions of Hamas in Rafah.”
According to Mr. Netanyahu, there are four suspected Hamas cells operating within Rafah, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
However, he gave no timeframe for the operation, simply guaranteeing that the IDF will conduct it “while providing safe passage for the civilian population.”
The world has condemned Israel’s most recent military tactic in large numbers.
Mr. Biden had before claimed that Israel had gone “over the top” in its response to the assaults of October 7.
Such an operation, according to Egypt, which borders the area and runs the Rafah border crossing into Gaza, would be illegal under international law and run the risk of escalating onto its territory due to the refugee problem.
It has threatened to revoke the Camp David Accords, a major source of Middle East stability, in the event that Mr. Netanyahu follows through on his proposal.
