00:00 Rafa is home to 1.4 million people, many of whom were pushed out of their homes in northern
00:05 Gaza by Israel's ground operations there.
00:08 The displaced are fearing the same fate again as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists
00:13 he's pushing forward with plans for an assault on Rafa, this despite pleas from Washington
00:18 for the whole thing to be called off.
00:19 "I made it clear to the President that we are determined to complete the elimination
00:25 of these battalions in Rafa and there is no way to do it other than a ground invasion."
00:32 Netanyahu's comments come less than a day after Biden cautioned against a ground invasion
00:37 in a call with the Israeli leader.
00:39 Washington says such a move would be a mistake and that Israel could achieve its military
00:43 aims, namely rooting out Hamas operatives, by other means.
00:48 The White House is set to reiterate those calls in a meeting early next week between
00:51 US and Israeli officials.
00:54 Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney has joined the chorus of opposition.
00:58 She says military action could have even more catastrophic consequences for civilians.
01:03 Qatar, a key mediator in ongoing ceasefire talks, fears the operation would also set
01:08 negotiations back.
01:09 "We do believe of course and we have said this countless times that any attack on Rafa
01:13 would hamper any efforts to get a deal.
01:18 It would be a humanitarian catastrophe within what is happening right now in Gaza.
01:23 We are talking about around 1.5 million Palestinians crammed into 10% of Gaza already."
01:31 Despite those warnings, Qatari officials say they are cautiously optimistic following a
01:36 meeting with Israel's intelligence chief to secure a six-week truce.
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