US Says Major Israel Attack on Rafah Would Be ‘Huge Mistake’

Ian Fisher
·4 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- US Vice President Kamala Harris warned Israel against a major attack on the Gazan city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge as the war against Hamas continues.

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While broadly in line with the Biden administration’s repeated cautions to Israel, Harris’ comments on Sunday went beyond remarks by Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his trip to the region last week.

“I am ruling out nothing,” Harris said to ABC when asked whether there would be consequences for Israel for a military assault on Rafah, which borders Egypt. “We have been clear in multiple conversations and in every way that any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake.”

Read more: Israel Says It Will Invade Rafah No Matter What the US Says

Israel says it must send troops into Rafah because it’s the last bastion of Hamas, an Iran-backed Islamist organization. Israeli intelligence estimates there are around 5,000 to 8,000 Hamas fighters and group leaders in the city, Bloomberg has reported.

Most of the rest of the world wants Israel to call off those plans and it’s an increasingly significant source of contention between the Israeli government and the US.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Israeli military will allow civilians out of Rafah before any offensive, but there’s skepticism it can be done safely and quickly. It’s also unclear where exactly they’d be moved to, with much of the rest of Gaza either destroyed or still a warzone.

Netanyahu says that if Israel doesn’t move into Rafah, Hamas could regroup and eventually carry out another attack similar to the one on Oct. 7 that sparked the war. Hamas and other militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 240 hostage that day.

Israel’s retaliatory air and ground attack on Gaza has killed more than 32,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The US and the European Union consider Hamas a terrorist group.

Although Israel has spoken forcefully since early February about the need for an attack on Rafah, it’s never signaled how quickly it intends to move troops in.

There are many reasons for the wait. US pressure has forced the Israeli government to plan more carefully about moving civilians out the city. At the same time, Israel and Hamas are negotiating in Qatar over a truce that would involve the release of hostages held in Gaza, though the talks are making slow progress.

In addition, Israel has reduced its troop numbers in Gaza since last year. Going into Rafah would require bringing some soldiers back to the Palestinian territory.

Washington Talks

An Israeli delegation is in Washington this week to discuss Rafah. It will be led by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer — who’s one of Netanyahu’s closest allies — and Tzachi Hanegbi, the national security advisor.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is there separately, and will meet with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, as well as Blinken.

Blinken says US officials will provide the Israelis with details about alternatives to a major ground operation in Rafah.

Read more: Blinken Persists in ‘Groundhog Day’ Travels Seeking Gaza Results

“A major military ground operation in Rafah is not the way to do it,” Blinken said while visiting Tel Aviv on Friday. “It risks killing more civilians, it risks wreaking greater havoc with the provision of humanitarian assistance, it risks further isolating Israel around the world and jeopardizing its long-term security and standing.”

After meeting Blinken, Netanyahu spelled out a very different perspective.

“We have no way to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah and eliminating the remnant of the battalions there,” he said. “I told him that I hope we would do this with US support but if necessary, we will do it alone.”

Biden is also stepping up calls for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza as the humanitarian situation worsens and the UN warns of a famine.

“It’s time to truly flood Gaza with life-saving aid,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday while at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing. “The choice is clear: either surge or starvation.”

--With assistance from Ethan Bronner.

(Updates with context on Rafah and details on Israeli delegation.)

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