US does not expect Israeli troops to enter Rafah at the start of Ramadan

CNN
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With the holy month of Ramadan for most Muslims scheduled to begin on Monday, the Biden administration does not expect the Israeli military to expand its military operation into Rafah anytime soon, two US officials told CNN.

Israeli War Cabinet Secretary Benny Gantz, who visited Washington last week, has said in recent weeks that unless a temporary ceasefire and hostage release agreements are reached during Ramadan, the Israeli military will continue its war against Hamas with a large-scale invasion. He warned us that steps would be taken. Go to Rafah in southern Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he plans to send troops to Rafah regardless of the deal.

“We’re going there. We’re not leaving.” [Gaza]” Prime Minister Netanyahu said in an interview with German news agency Axel Springer on Sunday. “You know, I have a red line. You know what a red line is, October 7th will never happen again.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu referred to President Joe Biden’s remarks in an MSNBC interview on Saturday that the operation against Rafah was a “red line that should not be crossed.”

“We cannot afford another 30,000 Palestinians to die because of this,” Biden said.

Netanyahu said in interviews with Politico and German media outlet Bild on Sunday that the operation would not last more than two months, but gave no details about the timeline.

“Once we start intense action to eliminate the Hamas terrorist battalion in Rafah, it’s a matter of weeks, if not months. I mean, it won’t take more than two months, maybe six weeks, maybe four weeks. “It’s going to take a while,” he said.

As of this weekend, the Biden administration had not yet seen any humanitarian or evacuation plans from the Israeli government that would seek to ensure the safety of civilians in Rafah before launching military operations there, two U.S. officials said.

More than a million people are crammed into a vast tent city on the Egyptian border in Rafah, nominally the only safe haven for Palestinians fleeing northern and central Gaza. Families already live with severe shortages of food, water, medicine and shelter, and at daily risk of being killed.

The UN aid chief warned that a ground invasion of Rafah could lead to “genocide”.

The deal, which negotiators are working feverishly to finalize before Ramadan, involves an initial six-week ceasefire and the release of some of the remaining Israeli hostages captured on October 7. be. This agreement does not appear to be on the verge of a breakthrough.

CIA Director Bill Burns, who has been leading the US effort, returned to the Middle East last week and met with his counterparts from Qatar, Egypt and Israel.

But Biden told reporters on Friday that while he had expressed optimism about reaching a temporary ceasefire agreement before the start of Ramadan, things are now “in a tough spot.”

The approach of Ramadan had heightened tensions in the Middle East as Israel repeatedly warned that it was preparing for a military attack on the area where an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians have fled.

President Biden has recently made it clear that Israel must first provide a blueprint to guarantee the safety of civilians in Rafah before considering a full-scale escalation of the war into the southern Gaza Strip. U.S. officials have also expressed deep skepticism that it is even possible to guarantee the safety of civilians in such a densely populated city.

For example, National Security Council Press Secretary John Kirby said at a White House press conference in late February that the United States would not support an attack on Rafah until the Biden administration confirms its plans to ensure the safety of refugees taking refuge in Rafah. He said he would not. city.

CNN’s Mitchell McCluskey and Michelle Shen contributed to this report.