A senior US source said President Joe Biden's administration was closely monitoring the situation in Rafah following a fatal Israeli bombing that started a fire at a tent camp in the southern Gaza city, killing 45 Palestinians. However, Israel's continuous assault in Rafah does not constitute a full-scale invasion that would violate Biden's "red lines," he stated.
According to Reuters, National Security Council spokesman john Kirby told reporters at the white house on tuesday that the "Israelis have said this is a tragic mistake" and that the US does not have "a measuring stick here or a quota".
"We've also stated that we don't want to see a huge ground operation in Rafah that would make it difficult for israel to pursue Hamas without causing severe damage and maybe a large number of casualties. We haven't seen it yet. We have not seen them break into Rafah," he added, noting that the Jewish state's actions were primarily conducted along a corridor on the fringes of Rafah.
Meanwhile, algeria will offer a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, asking for an end to the massacre in Rafah.
According to UN data, more than 1 million Palestinians have fled Rafah since israel commenced its current assault on May 6.
Latest Developments
• US National Security Council spokesperson john Kirby told reporters, "The Israelis have claimed they deployed 37-pound bombs, precision-guided weapons... If that's what they utilised, it's clear that they tried to be subtle, targeted, and exact. Now, obviously, this has fatal consequences, and that must be explored.
• Echoing Kirby's statements, US State Department spokeswoman Matthew Miller told reporters that Washington will closely monitor Israel's investigation into the Rafah strike, but the Jewish state's military operations in the city have not been as extensive as those in central or northern Gaza.