Rafah attack would be ‘huge mistake,’ Harris says
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris warned Israel against a major attack on the Gazan city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge as the war against Hamas terrorists continues.
While broadly in line with the Biden administration’s repeated cautions to Israel, Harris’ comments on Sunday went beyond remarks by Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his trip to the region last week.
“I am ruling out nothing,” Harris said to ABC when asked whether there would be consequences for a military assault on Rafah, which borders Egypt. “We have been clear in multiple conversations and in every way that any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake.”
Israel says it must send troops into Rafah at some stage because it’s the last remaining bastion of Hamas, an Iran-backed Islamist terrorist organization. Israeli intelligence estimates there are around 5,000 to 8,000 Hamas terrorists and group leaders in the city, Bloomberg has reported.
Most of the rest of the world wants Israel to call off those plans, and it’s an increasingly significant source of contention between the Israeli government and the U.S.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Israeli military will allow the civilians out of Rafah before any offensive, but there’s skepticism it can be done safely and quickly. It’s also unclear where exactly they would be moved to, with much of the rest of Gaza either destroyed or still a war zone.
Netanyahu says that if Israel doesn’t move into Rafah, Hamas could regroup and carry out another terrorist attack similar to the one on Oct. 7 that sparked the war.