Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country would attack the last major Hamas stronghold of Rafah regardless of whether or not the Biden administration supports it. The prime minister’s comments came as Israel recently eliminated a top Hamas leader and captured hundreds more.
Netanyahu made the comment after meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The prime minister said that his country had “no way to defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and eliminating the rest of the battalions there. And I told him that I hope we will do it with the support of the U.S., but if we need to, we will do it alone.”
The prime minister’s comments came after conflicting from the Biden administration. After initial supportive statements, Biden has stated that an attack on Rafah would represent a “red line.” He later backtracked from his original statement.
Netanyahu said that the attack on Rafah could come at any time.
Last week, Israel eliminated Marwan Issa, the third-highest leader of Hamas.
The death was revealed by the United States. Issa was allegedly a top planner of the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack that killed 1,200 people. The operation occurred in Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, which Hamas was using as a base of operations.
Israel also killed Faiq Mabhou, another top Hamas official.
BREAKING:
The deputy leader of the military wing of Hamas has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.
Marwan “the shadow man” Issa was second in command after Muhammad Deif.
Together with Yahya Sinwar, they are the 3 top terrorists in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/sJDHMigzbm
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 15, 2024
Several hundred Hamas fighters were captured in the operation.
The situation in Israel came amid growing international pressure against it. Canada announced last week that it would stop selling weapons to the country. Ottawa had not sold any arms to Israel since the current conflict began last October.
Furthermore, President Joe Biden may face increasing political pressure during an election year. Following the start of the current Israel-Hamas conflict, the president’s support among Muslim and Arab Americans has fallen significantly.
Should Biden lose the support of a large portion of Muslim and Arab Americans, it is very possible that he could lose states he won in 2020, including Minnesota and Michigan.
