Washington: US President Joe Biden’s administration faced renewed pressure from fellow Democrats on Wednesday to effect a full-scale invasion of Rafah, home to half of the 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip.
Fifty-seven of the 212 Democrats in the House of Representatives signed a letter calling on the administration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take all measures to deny the attack from the city near the Egyptian border.
White did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter, led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Madeline Dean.
Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas has emerged as a major political liability for the president, especially among young Democrats. It sparked a wave of “illegal” protests in the Democratic primaries and led to a wave of pro-Palestinian protests on US campuses.
That raises concerns for Democrats as Biden is locked in a tight race against Republican incumbent Donald Trump.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Wednesday that he had not seen Israel’s plan to protect civilians in Rafah, and reiterated that Washington could not support such an attack.
Blinken and Netanyahu met for 2-1/2 hours in Jerusalem on Wednesday, after which Israel reiterated that the Rafah operation will continue despite the US position and US warnings that it will lead to “disaster”.
The US is Israel’s main diplomatic supporter and arms supplier. Blinken’s visit to Israel comes a month after Biden warned that Washington’s policy could change if Israel does not act to address civilian casualties, the humanitarian crisis and the safety of aid workers.
