From the Liveblog of
Monday, May 6, 2024
US: Biden reiterated ‘clear position on Rafah,’ Netanyahu agreed to reopen crossing
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to reopen Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza during his call with US President Joe Biden, the White House says.
Israel closed the crossing, which is used to funnel humanitarian aid into the Strip, after a Hamas rocket attack over the weekend killed four IDF troops at an adjacent military outpost.
Also during the call, the White House says Biden updated Netanyahu on the ongoing efforts to secure a hostage deal, which appeared to reach an impasse over the weekend.
Hamas has said it is ending its participation in the talks after the IDF this morning began ordering the evacuation of several eastern neighborhoods of Rafah, ahead of a long-pledged major offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city.
Biden “reiterated his clear position on Rafah,” the White House readout says, without elaborating. The US has repeatedly expressed its opposition to a major Israeli offensive if it does not ensure that the one million-plus Palestinians sheltering there will be protected. Israel claims it can safely evacuate and care for those civilians, but Washington does not appear convinced.
The Biden administration is pushing alternatives to a Rafah invasion, including through the bolstering of the Gaza border with Egypt and more targeted operations against Hamas’s leadership. Israeli leaders have said the four operational Hamas battalions in the city must be dismantled in order to ensure the terror group can no longer threaten the country.
Biden during the call “reaffirmed his message on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.”
“The two leaders discussed the shared commitment of Israel and the United States to remember the six million Jews who were systematically targeted and murdered in the Holocaust, one of the darkest chapters in human history and to forcefully act against antisemitism and all forms of hate-fueled violence,” the White House readouts says.
A readout is not immediately available from Netanyahu’s office, which does not issue statements on every call the premier holds.
