Biden says IDF Rafah invasion a ‘red line,’ but asserts he’ll ‘never leave Israel’

US President Joe Biden says in an MSNBC interview that the Israeli planned major offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah would be a “red line,” before he seemingly backtracks and says, “I’m never going to leave Israel” and that “there’s no red line.”

In the somewhat contradictory exchange with his interviewer, Biden says “There cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead as a consequence of going after” Hamas.

Biden and his aides have urged Netanyahu in strong terms not to launch a major offensive in Rafah until Israel crafts a plan for mass evacuation of civilians from the last area of Gaza it has not yet invaded with ground forces. More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are sheltering in the Rafah area.

“There [are] other ways… to deal with … the trauma caused by Hamas,” Biden said, referring to the terror group’s October 7 onslaught in southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 were kidnapped into Gaza.

“The defense of Israel is still critical,” President Joe Biden tells Jonathan Capehart. “But there's red lines that if he crosses…cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead.” pic.twitter.com/0SAPJySAYS

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 9, 2024

Asked whether an Israeli invasion of Rafah would be a red line for him with Netanyahu, Biden said: “It is a red line, but I’m never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical. So there’s no red line (in which) I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them.”

Biden insists, however, that Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.”

The US president reiterates his call for a six-week ceasefire for hostage releases and aid delivery.

Asked whether a ceasefire could still be reached before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins around March 10, Biden says: “I think it’s always possible. I never give up on that.”