Biden to speak with Netanyahu as Rafah evacuations begin

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) – US President Joe Biden will speak with Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday as hundreds of Palestinians flee the southern Gazan city of Rafah following Israel's evacuation orders.

A National Security Council spokesperson, who addressed the matter on condition of anonymity, confirmed the upcoming conversation between American and Israeli leaders but declined to comment on the Israeli army's planned military action in Rafah, where over 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge.

"We have made our views clear on a major ground invasion of Rafah to the Israeli government, and the President will speak with the Prime Minister today," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

"We continue to believe that a 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 are sheltering. Those talks are ongoing now," said the statement.

Earlier Monday, the Israeli military issued immediate evacuation orders for Palestinians in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah and called on them to move to the town of al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.

Around 100,000 Palestinian civilians are estimated to be living in the areas to be evacuated, according to Israeli Army Radio.

Rafah is home to more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians who have taken refuge from the war launched by Israel following Hamas's Oct. 7 attack that killed nearly 1,200 people.

Over 200,000 Palestinians lived in Rafah before the war.

Nearly seven months into the war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Over 34,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza amid sweeping shortages of daily necessities, including food, water and medicine that have caused prompted by Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

An interim ruling from the UN’s top court in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians there.