President Biden Administration Offers Intelligence and Supplies to Israel to Avoid Rafah Invasion

The U S President Joe Biden has been working tirelessly to prevent a full-scale Israeli invasion of Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip where 1.3 million Palestinians have taken shelter after fleeing from other parts of the region. According to four anonymous sources familiar with the U.S. offers, the administration has proposed providing Israel with valuable assistance, including sensitive intelligence and supplies, if it agrees to hold back from a large-scale operation.

The United States has offered to share intelligence that could help the Israeli military pinpoint the locations of Hamas leaders and uncover the group’s hidden tunnels. This intelligence could aid Israel in carrying out targeted strikes against key targets without the need for a massive ground invasion.

Proposed Humanitarian Aid for Displaced Palestinians

In addition to intelligence support, American officials have proposed assisting Israel in establishing temporary settlements for Palestinians evacuated from Rafah. This includes providing thousands of shelters to create tent cities and helping with the construction of delivery systems for food, water, and medicine.
The proposed humanitarian aid aims to ensure that displaced Palestinians have habitable living conditions if they are forced to evacuate Rafah during military operations.

Concerns Over Israeli Invasion Plans

Despite these diplomatic efforts, concerns have been mounting at the White House regarding Israel’s intentions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to enter Rafah with “extreme force,” and this week, he took several steps that raised fears of an imminent large-scale invasion.
President Biden and his senior aides have been making these offers over the past several weeks, hoping to persuade Israel to conduct a more limited and targeted operation in Rafah, rather than a full-scale invasion that could lead to significant civilian casualties and further destabilization in the region.
The situation in Rafah remains tense, as both sides weigh their options and seek a resolution to the ongoing conflict.

U.S. Urges Israel to Evacuate Palestinian Civilians Safely from Rafah

The United States is urgently advising Israel on how to safely evacuate hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians from the embattled city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. As Israel prepares for a potential ground invasion of Rafah, the last remaining city in Gaza not devastated by the seven-month war, the Biden administration is stressing the need for a humanitarian plan to provide shelter, food, water, medicine, and other necessities to those who are evacuated.

Experts from agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have warned that relocating Palestinians from Rafah’s decrepit and unsanitary conditions will take several months. They are advising Israeli counterparts on the specifics of a humanitarian plan, down to the number of tents and water needed for specific areas. Aid groups have expressed skepticism about safely evacuating people from Rafah, given the dire conditions in the rest of Gaza.

U.S. Pushes for Gaza Ceasefire as Israel Prepares Rafah Operation

The Biden administration has made it clear to Israel that it has “serious concerns” about how the Gaza campaign has been prosecuted, as tensions could escalate further with an operation in Rafah. U.S. officials are working closely with Egypt to find and cut off tunnels that cross the Egypt-Gaza border in the Rafah area, which Hamas has used for military resupply.
Despite repeated U.S. warnings against a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah, Israel has recently seized a border crossing near the city and ordered over 100,000 people to evacuate, without providing a secure, livable destination. Some U.S. officials view this as an attempt by Israel to pressure Hamas into an extended ceasefire in exchange for releasing the remaining Israeli hostages.

Biden Threatens Consequences if Israel Targets Rafah Population Centers

President Biden has warned that he would withhold the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel if the country moves ahead with a Rafah invasion that targets population centers, a notable shift from his previous stance of resisting consequences for Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu defiantly responded that Israel “will stand alone” if necessary.
However, Biden said Israel has not crossed his “red line” because its forces have not begun invading or bombing densely populated areas of Rafah. As U.S.-Israel talks now focus on the shape of the Rafah operation, Israeli officials are not strongly pushing back on U.S. demands, although they disagree on the timeline for evacuating civilians.