Biden talks to Netanyahu as Israelis appear closer to major Rafah offensive

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden again urged the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against the launch of an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, as Israel on Monday seemed to be getting closer to a major offensive to eradicate Hamas militants.

But shortly after Israel announced it would order some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating Rafah, Hamas said in a statement it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal to end the seven-month war. war with Israel in Gaza.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel will continue its operations in Gaza while officials deliberate on the ceasefire proposal approved by Hamas. And the Israeli War Cabinet voted unanimously in favor of a military operation in Rafah, but will continue ceasefire efforts.

The Israeli military also said it was carrying out “targeted strikes” against Hamas in eastern Rafah. The nature of the attacks was not immediately known, but the move appeared intended to maintain pressure while talks continue.

Biden administration officials continued on Monday to express concern to Israelis that a major military operation in the densely populated areas of Rafah could be catastrophic.

On Monday, White House officials were also privately concerned about the latest attacks on Rafah, although they did not appear to be the large-scale attack Netanyahu was threatening, according to a person familiar with the administration’s thinking who was not authorized to comment publicly.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Biden had been briefed on Hamas’ response. CIA Director William Burns, who was in Qatar for hostage talks with regional officials, was discussing Hamas’ statement with its allies in the region. Kirby declined to discuss the parameters of what Hamas says it has agreed to.

“Bill Burns is analyzing that response. He is talking to the Israelis about it,” Kirby told reporters. “And we’ll see where this goes. “Hopefully, this can lead to those hostages getting out very, very soon.”

In recent days, Egyptian and Hamas officials have said that the ceasefire would occur in a series of stages during which Hamas would release the hostages it is holding in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

Senior Biden administration officials have been publicly pressuring Hamas to accept what they have described as a generous offer from the Israelis that would also lead to a prolonged truce and the release of Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israeli jails and perhaps lay the groundwork for a permanent purpose. to the current conflict.

The White House said Biden, in a Monday morning phone call with Netanyahu, underscored U.S. concerns about an invasion of Rafah, where more than 1 million civilians from other parts of Gaza are sheltering as the war unleashed by Hamas attack on October 7 against Israel has caused the death of more than 34,000 Palestinians and deprivation in the territory.

Biden told Netanyahu that he still believes reaching a ceasefire with Hamas is the best way to protect the lives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, officials said. Israel says Hamas holds about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others in Gaza.

The leaders’ call came before Hamas announced it had accepted a ceasefire proposal.

“The president was consistent again this morning that we do not support ground operations in Rafah,” Kirby said.

The latest developments come as Biden hosted King Abdullah II of Jordan for a private lunch at the White House on Monday to discuss the war and hostage talks. Jordan’s embassy in Washington said in a post on social media site X after the leaders’ meeting that Abdullah warned that an Israeli operation in Rafah “threatens to lead to a new massacre.”

Netanyahu on Sunday rejected international pressure to stop the war in Gaza in a fiery speech commemorating the country’s annual Holocaust remembrance day, declaring: “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”

“I say to the leaders of the world: no pressure or decision from any international forum will prevent Israel from defending itself,” he said, speaking in English. “It will never be again now.”

The Israeli army on Monday ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating. Rafaindicating that a ground invasion could be imminent and further complicate efforts to negotiate a ceasefire.

Tensions rose on Sunday when Hamas fired rockets at Israeli troops positioned on the border with Gaza, near Israel’s main crossing to delivering humanitarian aid, killing four soldiers. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes in Rafah killed 22 people, including children and two babies, according to a hospital.

Netanyahu also told Biden that he would ensure that the Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel remained open for the delivery of humanitarian aid, according to the White House.

Israeli officials last week briefed Biden administration officials on evacuation plan Palestinian civilians ahead of a possible operation, according to US officials familiar with the matter.

The officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive exchange, said the plan outlined by the Israelis did not change the U.S. administration’s view that moving ahead with an operation in Rafah would jeopardize to too many innocent Palestinian civilians. risk.

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had previously stressed with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that Israel needed a “credible plan” to evacuate those civilians. and maintain humanitarian aid. Ryder said Austin had seen “concepts” from the Israelis about their plan for an operation in Rafah “but there is nothing detailed at this time.”

Israeli officials said those ordered to evacuate would be moved from parts of Rafah to a nearby Israeli-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasian improvised camp on the coast.

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AP writers Tara Copp in Washington and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed reporting.