Israel's Rafah offensive sparks US concern, defies ceasefire hopes

The Israeli war cabinet unanimously approved an operation in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, to "put pressure on Hamas"; the goal is "to make progress in releasing hostages and achieving other war objectives," the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced.

The statement also noted that the ceasefire conditions accepted by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are "far from Israel's basic demands." It was added, however, that the government will still send negotiators to maintain talks to find an agreement that would meet Israel's conditions.

President Biden made it clear in a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he opposes the Israeli-announced assault on Rafah - said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Monday. He also did not deny information about the suspension of ammunition deliveries to Israel.

The President was very clear in his conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu: we do not want to see a large land operation in Rafah, which would put over a million people at greater risk. We were very direct and very consistent - Kirby said, recounting the leaders' conversation during Monday's briefing at the White House.

Rafah is the last stronghold of Hamas in the Gaza Strip but also a refuge for over a million Palestinian internal refugees from other parts of the territory. The US administration has long been exerting pressure on Israeli authorities to dissuade them from the planned assault for fear of worsening the situation of civilians. Nonetheless, on Monday, Israeli authorities announced their decision to proceed with the operation.

When asked about media reports, including from the Axios website, about the suspension of two batches of weaponry deliveries from the USA to Israel as pressure on Israeli authorities, Kirby did not confirm this information. Still, when repeatedly asked, he did not deny it. However, he emphasized that the US commitment to Israel's security remains "ironclad".

As Kirby stated, the conversation occurred before Hamas announced it had accepted a proposal for a ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages. Kirby announced that Biden was later informed about Hamas's response but did not want to comment. As he pointed out, it is being analyzed by the US's chief negotiator, CIA Director Bill Burns, and is the subject of discussions with US partners in the Middle East.

According to the White House, Netanyahu also agreed during the conversation to reopen the Kerem Shalom border crossing for humanitarian aid, which was closed after Sunday's Hamas attack on Israeli soldiers.

Earlier, Israeli media reported that Tel Aviv was considering the ceasefire conditions accepted by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. There has been no official response yet, but officials are already saying that "it's not the same proposal" that the government in Jerusalem agreed to - Israeli media reports.

In Rafah, currently, about 1.4 million of the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, refugees who fled from other regions, are taking shelter.