Biden and Netanyahu speak as pressure grows over Rafah and Gaza ceasefire talks
Joe Biden “reiterated his clear” opposition to an invasion of Rafah in a conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, as pressure builds on Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a ceasefire to the nearly sevenmonth-long war in Gaza.
In the face of global concern for the more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering in the southern city, the White House said Biden told the Israeli prime minister that the US would oppose the offensive unless adequate provisions were made to move and care for the more than a million Palestinians sheltering there.
The White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, claimed the Israeli government had assured Washington that it would take US views into consideration before launching the offensive.
“They’ve assured us that they won’t go into Rafah until we’ve had a chance to really share our perspectives and our concerns with them,” Kirby told ABC television.
Also on Sunday, health officials in Gaza said Israeli airstrikes on three houses in Rafah had killed 13 people and wounded many others.
Biden and Netanyahu also reviewed the state of hostage negotiations, ahead of a new round of talks in Cairo, as a senior official from key intermediary Qatar urged Israel and Hamas to show “more commitment and more seriousness” in the negotiations.
The comments by Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari in interviews with the liberal daily Haaretz and Israeli public broadcaster Kan were published and aired on Saturday evening.
Qatar, which hosts Hamas’s headquarters in Doha, was instrumental along with the US and Egypt in helping negotiate a brief halt to the fighting in November that led to the release of dozens of hostages. But in a sign of frustration, Qatar this month said it was reassessing its role.
Al-Ansari expressed disappointment with Hamas and Israel, saying each side had made decisions based on political interests and not with civilians’ welfare in mind. He didn’t reveal details on the talks other than to say they had “effectively stopped”, with “both sides entrenched in their positions”.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, is due to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Monday for diplomatic talks on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, to discuss ceasefire negotiations and humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
An Israeli delegation is expected in Egypt in the coming days to discuss the latest proposals in negotiations, and senior Hamas official Basem Naim said in a message to the Associated Press that a delegation from the group would also head to Cairo.
Egyptian officials have stepped up their efforts to mediate talks between Hamas and Israel, after a new proposal that would initially see a small number of hostages held in Gaza released in exchange for Palestinians in the territory to be able to return to their homes.
An Egyptian official told Associated Press that mediators were working on a compromise solution to answer both parties’ main concerns, intended to set the stage for further negotiations to end the war entirely.
A letter written by the US president and 17 other world leaders urged Hamas to release the hostages immediately. Hamas in recent days has released new videos of three hostages, an apparent push for Israel to make concessions.
Biden and Netanyahu also discussed increases in the delivery of humanitarian supplies to Gaza “including through preparations to open new northern crossings starting this week”, a White House account of the call said. The US president stressed that progress in aid entering the coastal strip be “sustained and enhanced in full coordination with humanitarian organisations”.