Biden Tells Netanyahu Israel Shouldn’t Invade Rafah Without Credible Civilian Protection Plan

Israel’s planned ground operation in Rafah has triggered a widening diplomatic and legal backlash as Gaza’s southern border town remains packed with displaced Palestinians.

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Middle East Eye

In Rafah, the population is described as “more than 1.5 million Palestinians” after people fled there from central and northern Gaza, and the city is “densely populated” with “sprawling tent camps and U.N.-run shelters near the border,” according to PBS.

Middle East Eye

The Middle East Eye live coverage says Rafah “waits in fear for a potential planned invasion by the Israeli army,” after Israel’s earlier raid and “intense bombing that killed dozens of Palestinians including children.”

The Tikun Olam piece frames the coming assault as part of a broader pattern, describing “the IDF rescued two Israeli captives from Gaza” and then saying “the IAF destroyed the entire neighborhood in which they’d been held,” with “Dozens died” after the rescue.

It also says the “prime minister’s plan to invade Rafah” was discussed during a call between “Pres. Biden” and “Bibi Netanyahu,” and that Netanyahu “affirmed that the IDF would not invade before the civilians left Rafah.”

PBS reports that Biden told Netanyahu Israel “shouldn’t go ahead with a military operation in the densely populated Gaza border town of Rafah without a ‘credible’ plan to protect civilians,” as the White House said the two leaders spoke on Sunday.

The same PBS account says Egypt threatened to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if troops are sent into Rafah, and it links that threat to fears that fighting could force closure of “the besieged territory’s main aid supply route.”

The immediate diplomatic pressure on Israel centered on whether it could protect civilians if it entered Rafah, with the White House warning that any operation without a credible protection plan would be unacceptable.

PBS says Biden told Netanyahu on Sunday that Israel “shouldn’t go ahead with a military operation in the densely populated Gaza border town of Rafah without a ‘credible’ plan to protect civilians,” and it adds that the leaders spoke after “two Egyptian officials and a Western diplomat” said Egypt threatened to suspend its peace treaty with Israel.

PBS

PBS links Egypt’s concern to the possibility that fighting would force closure of “the besieged territory's main aid supply route,” and it describes the standoff as involving “two close U.S. allies.”

The Tikun Olam account claims that Netanyahu “affirmed that the IDF would not invade before the civilians left Rafah” and says Netanyahu “tasked the IDF with devising an evacuation plan,” while a U.S. official said the precondition was that “The population would have to move, would have to be moved safely and everything else.”

Tikun Olam also quotes an Israeli media outlet saying the U.S. warned that Israel had not done “the pre-operational planning necessary to ensure that civilians will be kept out of harm’s way and that failure to do so risks ‘disaster.’”

In the PBS account, the humanitarian stakes are spelled out through the warning that a ground operation could cut off “one of the only avenues for delivering Gaza's badly needed food and medical supplies,” and it notes that around “80 percent of residents have fled their homes” with “the U.N. says a quarter of the population faces starvation.”

The Middle East Eye live updates add that ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said he was “deeply concerned about a potential Israeli ground invasion of the city of Rafah,” and it quotes him saying, “I am deeply concerned by the reported bombardment and potential ground incursion by Israeli forces in Rafah.”

Multiple voices inside and outside the region framed Rafah as a flashpoint for civilian harm and legal accountability.

“חשיפה: הפקודה הסודית של קבינט המלחמה, “אוי לרשע ואוי לשכנו”, קובעת כי כל שכונה עזתית שבה מוחזקים חטופים תוחרב לאחר חילוצם News Update: the IDF rescued two Israeli captives from Gaza”

Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم

The Middle East Eye live coverage quotes ICC prosecutor Karim Khan saying he was “deeply concerned about a potential Israeli ground invasion of the city of Rafah,” and it adds that the prosecutor said on X that the court has an active investigation going on in Palestine with a goal of “bringing to justice those responsible for Rome Statute crimes.”

The same live coverage reports that European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell “hinted that Biden should give Israel ‘less arms’ if it cares about the high civilian death toll in Gaza,” and it also includes a separate quote from Borrell: “An Israeli offensive on Rafah would lead to an unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe and grave tensions with Egypt.”

PBS adds that Human Rights Watch said forced displacement is a war crime and that “civilians who don't evacuate are still protected by international humanitarian law,” while refugee and migrant rights researcher Nadia Hardman said, “There is nowhere safe to go in Gaza.”

Hamas’ position is also presented in PBS through a quote attributed to Hamas’ Al-Aqsa television station, where an unnamed Hamas official said any invasion of Rafah would “blow up” talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar aimed at achieving a cease-fire and the release of Israeli hostages.

PBS also reports that Biden last week called Israel’s military response in Gaza “over the top,” and it says the White House has warned against a Rafah ground operation under current circumstances, calling it “a ‘disaster’ for civilians.”

The Middle East Eye live updates, meanwhile, say al-Qassam Brigades reported that “three Israeli hostages who were seriously injured following Israeli air strikes died from their wounds.”

The sources diverge in how they frame the same Rafah-centered developments, with some emphasizing diplomatic warnings and legal concerns while others emphasize military actions and alleged directives.

PBS foregrounds the White House message that Biden told Netanyahu not to proceed without a “credible” plan to protect civilians, and it situates the dispute around Egypt’s threatened suspension of the Camp David Accords and the risk to “the besieged territory's main aid supply route.”

Middle East Eye

Middle East Eye, in contrast, presents Rafah as a live countdown to invasion, describing “mass protests took place on London’s Downing Street” and listing multiple developments in a single stream, including that ICC prosecutor Karim Khan was “deeply concerned” and that Josep Borrell hinted Biden should give “less arms.”

Tikun Olam offers a different narrative emphasis by inserting a “News Update” about an IDF rescue of “two Israeli captives from Gaza” followed by destruction of “the entire neighborhood in which they’d been held,” and it says “Dozens died” after the operation.

It also claims that “the savagery after the rescue was ordered by the Israeli war cabinet,” and it ties that alleged directive to a biblical metaphor and to “the prime minister’s plan to invade Rafah.”

Where PBS quotes Biden’s “over the top” characterization of Israel’s response and quotes Human Rights Watch on forced displacement as a war crime, Tikun Olam instead uses a moral and religious framing and asserts that the “apparent intent” of the destruction was “the wholesale destruction of everything and everyone in their neighborhood.”

The Middle East Eye live updates also add a separate military incident, saying Israel bombed an UNRWA building in Gaza, while PBS focuses on the Rafah operation debate and the aid route.

The sources portray the stakes of Rafah as both immediate and compounding, with warnings that an invasion could worsen humanitarian conditions and derail ceasefire efforts.

“Najib Jobain, Associated PressNajib Jobain, Associated Press Leave your feedback RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel shouldn't go ahead with a military operation in the densely populated Gaza border town of Rafah without a "credible" plan to protect civilians, President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, the White House said”

PBS

PBS says a ground operation in Rafah could cut off “one of the only avenues for delivering Gaza's badly needed food and medical supplies,” and it describes a situation where “around 80 percent of residents have fled their homes” and “the U.N. says a quarter of the population faces starvation.”

PBS

PBS also reports that Israel has ordered much of Gaza’s population to flee south, with “evacuation orders covering two-thirds of the territory,” even as it “regularly carries out airstrikes in all areas,” and it describes Rafah as “severely overcrowded” with the UN saying it hosts “1.4 million more” people than normal.

The Middle East Eye live updates add that Rafah is “home to more than 1.5 million Palestinians” and that “thousands of Palestinians are moving north of the city,” with many becoming displaced yet again.

Tikun Olam asserts that “as an Israeli invasion looms,” the IDF and IAF actions are already unfolding, stating “news outlets announced that the IAF had begun bombing Rafah” and that “No civilians had been evacuated.”

It also claims that an Israeli security source said the “evacuation” from Rafah will be “the same” as northern Gaza, with “Civilians will have to fend for themselves” and “There will be no assistance offered to them.”

In the diplomatic track, PBS says Hamas’ Al-Aqsa television quoted an unnamed Hamas official warning that an invasion would “blow up” talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to achieve a cease-fire and release Israeli hostages, while Middle East Eye reports Biden said Washington is working on a hostage deal that would result in “a six-week long pause in the fighting.”