By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to go ahead with a large-scale Israeli military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Monday, hours after Israel told Palestinians to evacuate parts of the area.
The White House said Biden reiterated his “clear position on Rafah,” which has been that Israel should not proceed with an invasion plan unless it shows how to protect hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians there.
The Israeli evacuation order comes after talks in Cairo aimed at reaching a ceasefire in exchange for releasing hostages deal stalled with Hamas demanding an end to the war after Israel proposed a ceasefire of several weeks.
The evacuation order sparked fears of a full-blown assault in Rafah, long threatened by Israel, against holdouts of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, seven months after Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7 and took 252 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel’s massive retaliation in response has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, health officials in the Hamas-ruled enclave say, and reduced much of Gaza to rubble.
“President Biden updated the prime minister on efforts to secure a hostage deal, including through ongoing talks today in Doha, Qatar. The Prime Minister agreed to ensure the Kerem Shalom crossing is open for humanitarian assistance for those in need,” the White House said.
The Kerem Shalom crossing is located in southern Gaza near Rafah.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; additional reporting by Ismail Shakil and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Susan Heavey and Bill Berkrot)
Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
