President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a White House official and a National Security Council spokesman on Monday morning, as Israel appeared closer to launching an offensive against the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Monday morning, a White House official and a National Security Council spokesman said, as Israel appeared closer to launching an offensive against the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip — a move that US strongly opposes it in the humanitarian field. grounds.
The NSC spokesman said Biden reiterated US concerns about an invasion of Rafah – where more than 1 million civilians from other parts of Gaza are sheltering after a seven-month war sparked by Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel – and said he believes that there will be a ceasefire. -Firing with Hamas is the best way to protect the lives of Israeli hostages in Gaza. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the call before an official statement from the White House was released.
The call comes hours before Biden is scheduled to host King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday for a private lunch meeting at the White House.
On Sunday, Netanyahu rejected international pressure to end the war in Gaza in a fiery speech marking the country’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, declaring: “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”
“I say to the leaders of the world: no pressure, no decision from any international forum will prevent Israel from defending itself,” he said in English. “That will never happen again.”