Washington [US], March 11: US President Joe Biden warned about the possibility of the Israeli army advancing into the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip and emphasized that 30,000 more people cannot die in this land.
Is Israel making a mistake?
The conflict between Israel and Hamas forces lasted 5 months and killed nearly 31,000 people in the Gaza Strip . The war began after Hamas suddenly attacked Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 253 people. The US government supports Israel's right to self-defense but is also under pressure from many sides to influence the ally to limit casualties in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with MSNBC on March 9, President Biden said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has the right to continue to pursue Hamas", but also needs to pay more attention to civilians caught in the crossfire. According to Mr. Biden, disregarding the lives of innocent people is "contrary to what Israel supports and is a big mistake, causing more harm than help to Israel."
Reuters yesterday quoted David Barnea, head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, as saying that efforts by this country and Hamas to reach a ceasefire agreement are still ongoing, although such an agreement is increasingly unlikely. during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Mr. Barnea met with Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns on March 8 to discuss an agreement to return hostages, but in a later announcement, Mossad said that Hamas seemed interested in blowing up the hostages. outbreak of conflict in the Middle East during Ramadan (starting March 10) rather than stopping hostilities in Gaza. However, President Biden said in the interview that Mr. Burns is still in the area and there is still a possibility of reaching a ceasefire agreement during Ramadan. Unlike US officials, who believe that Hamas is the party obstructing the agreement, President Biden stated that this force wants a complete ceasefire because that gives them a chance to survive and rebuild.
Mr. Biden's warning
On the other hand, the White House owner has made contradictory statements about America's limits on Israel's ability to launch a ground operation in Rafah City, where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are taking refuge. . This is the last place in the Gaza Strip where Israel has not deployed ground troops and the US has urged Israel not to do so without presenting a plan to evacuate civilians.
When asked if the operation in Rafah was a "red line", President Biden answered yes, but then immediately said that he would never abandon Israel and would not cut off arms supplies to the country ally.
"There are red lines if he (the Israeli Prime Minister) crosses them. There cannot be 30,000 more Palestinians killed just to pursue Hamas," the US President said. He said that there are other ways to resolve the injuries caused by Hamas, and called on Israel not to repeat the mistakes of the United States after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. "We should not have gone to Iraq and Afghanistan. It was unnecessary. It only caused more problems than it solved," Mr. Biden affirmed.
Yesterday, the US Central Command announced that the Army had sent the logistics support ship General Frank S. Besson to the Eastern Mediterranean to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The ship carries equipment to build a temporary wharf in Gaza, which does not have suitable port infrastructure.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
