Bibi rebuffs Biden, vows to go ahead with Rafah assault

Israeli PM Netanyahu spurned a plea from Joe Biden to call off a planned ground assault of Rafah, the last refuge in Gaza for more than a million displaced people, where Israel believes Hamas fighters are holed up. Netanyahu told lawmakers Tuesday he had made it “supremely clear” to the US president “that we are determined to complete the elimination of these battalions in Rafah, and there’s no way to do that except by going in on the ground”. The two leaders spoke by phone Monday.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington believed an assault on Rafah would be a “mistake” and that Israel could achieve its aims by other means. US and Israeli officials will likely meet early next week in Washington to discuss Israel’s military operation in Rafah, White House spokesperson said. Washington has launched a new push for a ceasefire. Secretary of state Antony Blinken announced a trip to West Asia. Unusually, Blinken made no mention of a stop in Israel itself.