Biden: PM heeded my warning against major Rafah offensive, scaling down IDF ops there

US President Joe Biden says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has listened to his warnings against a major military offensive in Rafah, tailoring the IDF’s plans to a more targeted operation.

Asked in an interview with ABC News whether he thinks Netanyahu is listening to him, Biden responds, “I think he’s listening to me.”

“They were going to go into Rafah full bore — invade all of Rafah, go into the city, take it out, move with full force. They haven’t done that,” Biden says.

Asked whether he thinks Netanyahu will stick by the hostage deal proposal Israel submitted last week, Biden says, “He’s publicly said he is. Our European friends are in on it. We have to get a ceasefire.”

“What [Israel has] done is they’ve agreed to a significant agreement that if in fact Hamas accepts it…” he begins before adding that the offer is being backed by much of the Arab world.

“We’ll see. This is a very difficult time,” Biden says.