United States National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan stated on Monday during a press briefing that US President Joe Biden rejects the "straw man" that questioning the Rafah operation is equivalent to questioning the defeat of Hamas.
"Every time I hear an argument that you can't defeat Hamas unless you smash into Rafah, that's a straw man. That's just nonsense. Our position is that Hamas should not be allowed a safe haven in Rafah or anywhere else," he added.
Sullivan also highlighted that in the recent call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Biden emphasized that "the key goals Israel wants to achieve in Rafah can be done by other means." He asked Netanyahu "to lay out an alternative approach that would target key Hamas elements in Rafah and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground invasion.”
