Israel has launched additional airstrikes on Rafah in Gaza’s south, following US President Joe Biden’s remark that Israel’s response to Hamas’ October 7 attack was over the top.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Israeli forces to prepare for the operation in Rafah, the final major city that Israeli ground troops have yet to attack.
The State Department stated on Thursday that it does not favor a ground offensive in Rafah, saying that if not properly prepared, such an operation in a metropolis housing more than one million displaced Palestinians may result in disaster.
And, in a rare rebuke from an ally, Biden said Israel’s military reaction to the October 7 strike was excessive and should be stopped.
He told media at the White House, “I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, has been over the top”.
“There are a lot of innocent people who are starving, a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying, and it’s got to stop”, he added.
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