Biden speaks with Netanyahu as Israelis appear closer to Rafah offensive

Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken in a phone call as Israel appeared closer to launching an offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The White House said the president underscored US concerns about an invasion of Rafah — where more than a million civilians from other parts of Gaza are sheltering after seven months of war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.

Mr Biden also told Mr Netanyahu that a ceasefire with Hamas is the best way to protect the lives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, according to White House officials.

It came shortly before Hamas announced it had accepted an Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal.

“Bill Burns is looking at that response. He’s talking to the Israelis about it,” Mr Kirby told reporters. “And we’ll see where this goes. Hopefully, it can lead to those hostages getting out real, real soon.”

On Sunday, Mr Netanyahu rejected international pressure to halt the war in Gaza in a fiery speech marking the country’s annual Holocaust memorial day, declaring: “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.

“I say to the leaders of the world: no amount of pressure, no decision by any international forum will stop Israel from defending itself. Never again is now.”

The Israeli army ordered about 100,000 Palestinians on Monday to begin evacuating from Rafah, signalling that a ground invasion could be imminent.

Mr Biden, according to the White House, also updated Mr Netanyahu on efforts to secure a hostage deal, including through the talks in Qatar.

Mr Netanyahu told Mr Biden he would ensure the Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel would remain open for humanitarian aid deliveries, according to the White House.

Tensions escalated on Sunday when Hamas fired rockets at Israeli troops on the border with Gaza near Israel’s main crossing for delivering humanitarian aid, killing four soldiers. Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes on Rafah killed 22 people, including children and two infants, according to a hospital.

Israeli officials last week briefed Biden administration officials on a plan to evacuate Palestinian civilians ahead of a potential operation, according to US sources.

The officials said the plan detailed by the Israelis did not change the US administration’s view that an operation in Rafah would put too many innocent Palestinian civilians at risk.

Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told reporters on Monday that defence secretary Lloyd Austin had previously stressed with Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant that Israel needed a “credible plan” to evacuate civilians and maintain humanitarian aid.

Israeli officials said those being ordered evacuated would move from parts of Rafah to a nearby Israel-declared humanitarian zone called Muwasi, a makeshift camp on the coast.