US President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that an Israeli military operation in Rafah would worsen anarchy in Gaza, and they agreed that teams from both sides would meet in Washington to discuss it, he said White House.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters the two countries would have a comprehensive discussion on how to proceed in Gaza, where a humanitarian crisis is raging after six months of fighting.
The meeting could take place this week or next, Sullivan said, and no Rafah operation would take place before the talks.
“Anarchy reigns in areas that the Israeli military has cleared but not stabilized” in Gaza, and a humanitarian crisis would worsen if Israel launched an offensive in Rafah, Sullivan summarized Biden’s message to Netanyahu.
“We have had many discussions at many different levels between our military, our intelligence, our diplomats or humanitarian experts, but we have not yet had the opportunity to have an all-encompassing, comprehensive, integrated, strategic discussion…,” he said.
The two leaders have had increasingly strained relations over Gaza. Sullivan described the conversation as “factual” and said it was not abruptly ended. Biden did not threaten to restrict US aid to Israel, he said.
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Biden told Netanyahu that he needed a coherent strategy for Gaza, Sullivan said, “instead of Israel invading Rafah.” He reiterated U.S. support for Israeli efforts to destroy Hamas militants who attacked southern Israel on October 7 attacked.
Sullivan also confirmed that Marwan Issa, the No. 3 leader in Hamas’s ranks, was killed in an Israeli operation last week. Hamas has not commented.
The call was the first between the two leaders since February 15 and comes amid high tensions between Israel and its staunchest ally over Netanyahu’s handling of the conflict in Gaza.
Netanyahu said the two men discussed Israel’s commitment to achieving all the goals it had set for the conflict: eliminating Hamas, releasing all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.
This is happening “while providing the necessary humanitarian assistance that contributes to achieving these goals,” he said in a statement.
In a speech on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a longtime supporter of Israel and the top Jewish elected official, called for new elections in Israel and said Netanyahu was an obstacle to peace.
Biden praised the speech the following day, saying Schumer had addressed the concerns of many Americans.
Netanyahu responded harshly on Sunday, telling CNN in an interview that Schumer’s speech was “totally inappropriate.”
Netanyahu reiterated at a Cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israeli forces would advance on Rafah, the last relatively safe location in the tiny, crowded enclave, despite international pressure on Israel to avoid further civilian casualties.
–Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland, written by David Ljunggren; Editing by Susan Heavey, Alex Richardson, Heather Timmons, Cynthia Osterman and Deepa Babington