Biden, Netanyahu agree to discuss alternatives to ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah

WASHINGTON DC: US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday and warned against the prospect of Israel conducting a major military operation in Rafah, the southernmost city of Gaza, where more than a million Palestinians have taken refuge. In their first telephone conversation in over a month, the two leaders spoke about the latest developments in Israel and Gaza, including Israel's military operations, increasing humanitarian assistance going to Gaza, and efforts to bring hostages home, the White House said.

The US President affirmed the need to defeat Hamas in Gaza while also protecting the civilian population and facilitating the safe and unhindered delivery of assistance throughout Gaza. Biden and Netanyahu agreed to have their teams meet soon in Washington to exchange views and discuss alternative approaches that would target key elements of Hamas and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground operation in Rafah, the White House readout said.

Biden asked Netanyahu to send a senior team composed of military, intelligence, and humanitarian officials to Washington to discuss an alternative approach that would target Hamas in Rafah and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground invasion. Briefing reporters at a White House Press briefing about the 45-minute call, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden expressed his "bone-deep commitment" to ensuring the long-term security of Israel.

"A major ground operation there would be a mistake. It would lead to more innocent civilian deaths, worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis, deepen the anarchy in Gaza and further isolate Israel internationally," he said. Sullivan clarified that Biden had again rejected during the call the "strawman argument that raising questions about Rafah is equivalent to raising questions about defeating Hamas. Hamas should not be allowed a safe haven anywhere."

The NSA said that Netanyahu agreed to Biden's request and said that the meeting would be held at the end of this week or early next week. Biden also issued a statement on X about his call with Netanyahu. "Today, I spoke again with Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding the latest developments in Israel and Gaza. I continued to affirm that Israel has a right to go after Hamas, a group of terrorists responsible for the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust," Biden said.

"And I reiterated the need for an immediate ceasefire as part of a deal to free hostages, lasting several weeks, so we can get hostages home and surge aid to civilians in Gaza, he said. Biden also confirmed that he had asked Netanyahu to "send a team to Washington to discuss ways to target Hamas without a major ground operation in Rafah."

In the call, Netanyahu reiterated Israel's commitment to achieving its war goals, including eliminating Hamas and releasing hostages. The call between Netanyahu and Biden was their 20th since the outbreak of war following Hamas's October 7 attack, but their first since February 15 according to the Times of Israel.