Starting this month, Israel, which has been gradually conducting military operations in the Rafah region of the Palestinian Gaza Strip, announced that it would expand its operations despite U.S. efforts to halt them. At the same time, disappointment is growing within the U.S. over President Joe Biden’s handling of the Gaza Strip.
According to the Israeli newspaper Times of Israel (TOI), Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with Jake Sullivan, the U.S. National Security Advisor, who visited Israel on the 20th (local time). Gallant revealed plans to expand military operations in Rafah and mentioned recent measures that have been taken for refugee evacuation and humanitarian aid. He emphasized the need to dismantle Hamas in the Gaza Strip through the expansion of military operations.
The Israeli military has been carrying out operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year. They have secured the northern and central regions, and have surrounded southern Rafah near the Egyptian border since February. With the presidential election ahead, President Biden with the conscious of the opposition from Islamic voters and left-wing groups, has opposed Israel conducting a large-scale ground battle in the Rafah region. The Biden administration has warned that a large-scale operation will lead to inevitable casualties and noted that about 1.3 million refugees are crowded in the Rafah region. They have also threatened to stop supplying weapons to Israel if it proceeds with the operation.
However, the Israeli military has been gradually infiltrating Rafah, issuing refugee evacuation orders in the eastern Rafah region on the 6th and 11th. They have also been occupying the border passage connected to Egypt.
Sullivan repeatedly emphasized opposition to a large-scale attack on the Rafah region during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the 19th.
U.S. political media The Hill quoted a public opinion poll released on the 20th, showing that the proportion of U.S. voters supporting Biden’s Gaza Strip policy has dropped to 36%, down 3 percentage points from last month. In a survey conducted in October last year when the Gaza Strip conflict began, the support rate was 44%. The survey targeted 1,660 registered voters and was conducted by the American Politics Research Institute (CAPS) at Harvard University along with the polling agency Harris from the 15th to the 16th.
