United States (U.S.) President Joe Biden was scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday while hundreds of Palestinians were fleeing the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah following Israeli evacuation orders.
A spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council confirmed talks were planned between the U.S. and Israeli leaders but did not comment on the Israeli army’s actions in Rafah. Over 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge in Rafah from Israeli attacks that began on October 7th.
“We have expressed our opposition to the ground invasion of Rafah to the Israeli government, and the president will discuss this with the prime minister today. We believe negotiating a hostage deal is the best solution to save lives and prevent an invasion of Rafah, where over a million people have sought shelter. These negotiations are ongoing,” the spokesman stated yesterday.
Earlier on Monday, the Israeli army issued an evacuation order for Palestinians in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah and urged them to move to the southern Gaza town of al-Mawasi.