WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has warned in a fresh call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against Israel launching an offensive on the Gaza Strip city of Rafah without a plan to keep civilian population safe.
The White House said that Joe Biden reiterated his view that a military offensive should not proceed without a plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the civilian people in Rafah.
The development comes as world leaders including Prime Ministers of Australia, New Zealand and Canada also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. They expressed the remarks in response to reports about Israel’s planned military attack in Rafah.
Biden Warns on Rafah Operation in New Call with Israeli PM: White House
In a joint statement, they said that they are gravely concerned by hints that Israel is planning a ground offensive into Rafah. The three PMs said that a military offensive into Rafah would be disastrous.
The statement saying a “humanitarian truce is immediately needed” in the Gaza Strip. According to the statement, around 1.5 million Palestinian people are taking shelter in the area, including many of their families.
They said that with the humanitarian situation in Gaza already dire, the impacts on Palestinian people from an expanded military operation would be disturbing. “We ask Israel not to go down this path”, the statement maintained.
The joint statement – cosigned by Prime Ministers Christopher Luxon, Justin Trudeau, and Anthony Albanes– also said that Israel “must listen to the world” and that Palestinians cannot be made to pay the price of conflict.
The health ministry in Gaza said more than 28,576 people including women and children have been killed in Gaza during the war between Hamas and Israel. The ministry further said that 68,291 people have been wounded across Gaza since October 7.
