Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his policies in the Gaza Strip after US President Joe Biden said the Israeli leader was “harming Israel more than helping it.”
He added: “I do not know exactly what the president meant, but if he meant by that that I am pursuing special policies against the desire of the majority of Israelis, and that this harms Israel’s interests, then he is wrong in both cases.” Netanyahu said in an interview with Politico newspaper and German media outlet Bild.
Biden made his comments during an interview with MSNBC that aired on Saturday, when he said that Netanyahu “should pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a result of the actions taken” in Gaza.
Netanyahu said he intends to go ahead with the invasion of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, despite Biden warning that doing so would be a “red line.”
“We’re going there. We’re not leaving. You know, I have a red line. Do you know what the red line is? October 7 will never happen again. Never again. And to do that, we must complete the destruction of the Hamas terrorist army.”
Netanyahu said that the operation would not last more than two months, but did not provide details about the timetable.
Latest US forecasts: The Biden administration does not currently expect Israeli forces to imminently expand their military operations in Rafah, with the start of the holy month of Ramadan, two US officials told CNN on Sunday.
The two US officials said that as of the end of this week, the Biden administration has not yet seen any kind of humanitarian or evacuation plan from the Israeli government that seeks to ensure the safety of these civilians in Rafah before launching a military operation there.
The approaching month of Ramadan has exacerbated tensions in the Middle East, given Israel’s repeated warnings that it is preparing for a military attack on the region, where an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians currently live.
CNN’s MJ Lee and Alex Marquardt contributed reporting to this publication.
