Biden says Israel 'made a commitment to me' on Rafah operation
Speaking on the talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers, US President Joe Biden said that Israel had "made a commitment to me" that they have "the ability to evacuate significant portions of Rafah before they go and take out the remainder of Hamas".
The comments appear to be the clearest indication yet that the US president has approved of an Israeli operation into the southernmost part of Gaza, an assault that UN secretary general Antonio Guterres warned would be the "nail in the coffin" for aid programmes.
Earlier this month, Middle East Eye reported that while the Biden administration had said it wouldn't support an Israeli military offensive on Rafah, it left room to back the offensive.
In an interview with CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, the Israeli prime minister said that a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas would delay the Rafah operation, but it would still take place at a later date.
Biden said during the talk show that there is "in principle" a hostage deal that will take place, and added that Israeli forces "would not engage in activities" during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.