Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that the war in Gaza is likely to escalate, a day after President Biden criticized Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip as “over the top.” Netanyahu ordered his forces to prepare a plan to evacuate the population of Rafah ahead of an expected Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza city. This decision comes following international criticism, including from President Biden and his top aides, of Israel’s plan to invade the crowded city on Egypt’s border.
Israel says Rafah is the last remaining Hamas stronghold and it needs to send in troops to complete its war plan against the Islamic militant group, which Netanyahu said still had “four battalions” there. But an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians have crammed into the city and the surrounding area after fleeing fighting elsewhere in Gaza, as they were urged to seek refuge there by the Israel Defense Forces.
Netanyahu stated that a “massive operation” was needed in Rafah and called for a “double plan” that would include the evacuation of civilians and a military operation to “collapse” the remaining Hamas militant units. President Biden’s comment about Israel’s actions in Gaza being “over the top” was the harshest U.S. criticism yet of its close ally and an expression of concern about a soaring civilian death toll in Gaza. The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Friday that the overall Palestinian death toll was approaching 28,000, with about two-thirds women and children. The count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the president hasn’t changed his position on the war and the U.S. wants Hamas to be defeated. She emphasized that while the U.S. supports Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas, it is crucial for Israel to ensure that their operations are targeted and conducted in a way that protects innocent civilians.
Israel’s intentions to expand its ground offensive to Rafah prompted an unusual public backlash in Washington. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel stated that there were no evidence of serious planning for such an operation. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby even said that an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah is “not something we would support.”
As the White House issued warnings, Israel continued bombing Rafah. Airstrikes overnight and into Friday hit two residential buildings in Rafah and two other sites in central Gaza. The airstrikes resulted in the death of twenty-two people. Aid agency officials also voiced concerns about the prospect of a Rafah offensive, stating that it could lead to a humanitarian crisis.
With the war now in its fifth month, Israeli ground forces are still focusing on the city of Khan Younis, just north of Rafah, but Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that Rafah will be the next target, causing panic among hundreds of thousands of displaced people. His words have also alarmed Egypt, which stated that any ground operation in the Rafah area or mass displacement across the border would undermine its 40-year-old peace treaty with Israel.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed 27,947 Palestinians and wounded more than 67,000, local health officials said Friday. Mr. Biden has said he continues to work “tirelessly” to press Israel and Hamas to agree on an extended pause in fighting, linked to the release of dozens of hostages, out of some 250 seized on Oct. 7.
Netanyahu has rejected Hamas’ demands for a hostage deal, which includes an end to the war and the release of hundreds of veteran Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences in Israel for deadly attacks. Meanwhile, Israel’s war goals appear increasingly elusive, as Hamas reemerges in parts of northern Gaza, which was the first target of the offensive and has seen widespread destruction.
