Appeal to Netanyahu

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US President Joe Biden has described a possible Israeli invasion of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip as his "red line" for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden would "never leave Israel". Netanyahu must "pay more attention to innocent people who die as a result of the measures taken".

Biden and his advisors have already called on Netanyahu several times not to launch a major offensive in Rafah before Israel has worked out a plan for the mass evacuation of civilians from the area. More than half of the Gaza Strip's 2.3 million inhabitants live in the Rafah area.

"Hurts more than it helps"
 In an interview with MSNBC, Biden also said that Netanyahu's actions "hurt Israel more than they help". The Israeli Prime Minister has "a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas".

Hoping for a ceasefire during Ramadan
However, this should not affect innocent people. "It cannot be that 30,000 more Palestinians die because they are pursuing this goal." Regarding a possible ceasefire before the start of the Muslim fasting month, the US President said: "It's always possible", but did not go into further detail.