After Biden indicates that invasion of Rafah could be ‘red line,’ Netanyahu says ‘We’ll go there’

According to a recent CNN report, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden does not expect an imminent grand invasion of Rafah. 

However, in an interview on Sunday with Politico’s Paul Ronzheimer, Netanyahu appeared to counter that expectation, saying Israel intends to enter Rafah. 

When asked if IDF troops would enter Rafah, Netanyahu replied, “We'll go there. We're not going to leave.” 

In his interview with MSNBC on Saturday, Biden appeared to initially identify an invasion of Rafah as a “red line” before backtracking. 

When asked whether an Israeli ground operation in Rafah is considered to be a “red line,” he responded: “It is a red line, but I’m never going to leave Israel.” 

“The defense of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line [where] I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them,” Biden added.

Netanyahu referred to his own “red line" during his interview with Politico.

“You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is? That Oct. 7 doesn’t happen again.” 

Israel has faced increasing international pressure to agree to a ceasefire, especially during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Netanyahu dismissed calls for a ceasefire without a significant hostage release deal. 

“Without a release, there's not going to be a pause in the fighting,” he stated. 

While Biden has been pushing for a six-week ceasefire as part of a hostage release deal, Netanyahu indicated that as soon as Israel begins the Rafah operation, its military objectives would be met sooner.

“We've destroyed three-quarters of Hamas' fighting terrorism battalions. And we're close to finishing the last part in warfare,” Netanyahu said.

He said fighting would take weeks, not months, “Maybe six weeks, maybe four," he added. 

During the Interview, the prime minister also gave an update on Israel’s assessment of combatant casualties. According to Netanyahu, the IDF has eliminated at least 13,000 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists in the conflict.

Netanyahu also said that, according to Israel’s calculations, the civilian-to-combatant ratio is between 1-1.5, meaning the total casualty figures are likely somewhere between 26,000 and 32,500. If true, this would represent one of the lowest civilian-to-combatant death toll ratios in modern combat, especially in urban warfare. 

Much of the discussion regarding civilian casualty numbers in the media and by international politicians has not taken into account the number of terrorists, citing merely the total casualty figures as if they represent only civilian casualties. 

Netanyahu also told Politico he has the tacit support of several Arab leaders to finish the war with Hamas. 

“They understand that, and even agree with it quietly,” he told Ronzheimer. “They understand Hamas is part of the Iranian terror axis.” 

Israel has stated it would not enter Rafah until it was ready to transfer the more than one million displaced persons from there to a safe zone. Israel is allegedly in the process of preparing such a safe zone in the northern Gaza Strip.