Israel PM Netanyahu updates Israelis on dispute with Biden on possible Rafah operation

Tel Aviv [Israel], March 21 (ANI/TPS): Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu updated the Israeli public on Wednesday about his recent conversation with US President Joe Biden, specifically his response to Biden’s objections to the Israeli military entering the southern Gaza City of Rafah.

“At the beginning (of the war), we agreed that Hamas needed to be eliminated,” he said. “But during the war, it is no secret, there have been disagreements between us on the best way to achieve this goal.”

Netanyahu said he told the President before the ground war against Hamas bagan, “It is impossible to defeat Hamas without the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) entering the Gaza Strip” and that now he told Biden, “It is impossible to complete the victory without the IDF entering Rafah in order to eliminate the remnants of Hamas’s battalions.”

The Prime Minister told Israelis that he approved the IDF’s operational plan for Rafah and soon will also approve the plan to evacuate the Gaza civilian population from the battle zones.

In response to President Biden’s concerns over humanitarian issues regarding any operation in Gaza, Netanyahu said, “there have been times when we have agreed with our friends, and there have been times when we have not agreed with them. In the end, we have always done what is vital for our security, and this is what we will do this time as well.”

“As we are preparing to enter Rafah, and this will take a little time, we are continuing to operate with full force,” he added.

“As I have promised you time and again, we are determined to achieve total victory, and we will achieve it,” he declared.