Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted there was a disagreement with the Biden administration on a large-scale Rafah operation but vowed Thursday to do what is necessary to defeat Hamas.
Netanyahu told Fox News host Sean Hannity there were four Hamas battalions remaining in Rafah and Israel refuses to “leave them there.”
“We’re going in there. We’re trying to reach an understanding with the administration. I hope we do, but we’ll do what we need to do, what we must do to make sure that Hamas doesn’t retake Gaza and do what they promised to do,” he said. “And that is to repeat the horrible October 7th massacre.”
The prime minister likened Israel leaving several Hamas battalions in Rafah to the Allies leaving 20% of the Nazi army in Berlin during World War II.
“That would be unacceptable,” he added. “It’s unacceptable to us too.”
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President Biden told CNN earlier this month that he would pause the shipments of some American weapons to Israel if it pushes forward with a large-scale invasion of Rafah, which has been a haven for half of the enclave’s 2.3 million people, according to Reuters.
“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden said. “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem.”
The Israeli Defense Forces took over the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing in mid-May and have continued to press deeper into the city.
A Rafah resident told Reuters yesterday that there has been no stoppage of Israeli fire from drones, helicopters, warplanes, and tanks in the area.
Netanyahu said the vast majority of the American people across the political spectrum, excluding the “extreme fringes on the progressive side,” understand Israel’s battle.
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“They understand that our war is your war. Our victory will be your victory,” he explained.
A Fox News poll released last week found voters are split over U.S. support to Israel: 32% say it is too supportive, 30% not supportive enough, and 33% about right.
As Israel’s war against Hamas enters its eighth month, Netanyahu vowed to continue fighting for the release of the more than 120 hostages still believed to be held in Gaza and the elimination of Hamas.
“We’ve comported with the laws of war, but we’re finishing them off, and we intend to complete the job because the days when Jews are slaughtered and are defenseless are gone,” he said. “Never again is now.”
