Netanyahu Tells Biden Rafah Invasion Necessary to Topple Hamas: ‘We Have Argument with Americans’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he told U.S. President Joe Biden that a ground invasion of Rafah is necessary to topple Hamas.

"I made it clear to the president in our conversation, in the clearest way, that we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah. And there is no way to do it, other than the ground invasion," he said.

Netanyahu spoke at the Foreign and Security Committee at the Knesset. "We have an argument with the Americans about the need to enter Rafah. Not about the need to eliminate Hamas, the need to enter Rafah," Netanyahu added. The White House has been skeptical of Netanyahu’s plan to carry out an operation in the southern Gaza strip city of Rafah, where about 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, as Israel looks to eliminate Hamas following the militant group’s deadly Oct. 7 attack.

Biden administration officials have warned that they would not support an operation in Rafah without the Israelis presenting a credible plan to ensure the safety of innocent Palestinian civilians. Israel has yet to present such a plan, according to White House officials.

The five-month war was triggered after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel in a surprise attack, rampaging through communities, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking around 250 hostages. Israel responded with one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history. The war has killed over 31,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes, and a quarter of the population faces starvation.

(The Associated Press)