United States (U.S.) President Joe Biden was supposed to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterdayas hundreds of Palestinians flee the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah following Israeli evacuation orders.
A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council confirmed that talks were expected between U.S. and Israeli leaders, but declined to comment on the planned military action by the Israeli army in Rafah, where more than 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge from Israeli attacks that have lasted sinceOctober 7th.
”We have clearly expressed our views on the large-scale ground invasion of Rafah to the Israeli government, and the president will speak with the prime minister today. We still believe that the hostage deal is the best way to preserve the lives of the hostages and avoid an invasion of Rafah, where more than a million people have taken refuge. Those negotiations are now underway,” the spokesman said yesterday in a statement.
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli army issued an emergency order to evacuate Palestinians in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah and called on them to relocate to the southern Gaza town of al-Mawasi.
