Jordan’s ruler, King Abdullah, told U.S. President Joe Biden during a lunch meeting at the White House on Monday that any Israeli military operations in Rafah would result in an unacceptable regional escalation of the seven-month-long war in Gaza.
"The king warned of the repercussions of the Israeli ground offensive on Rafah, which could cause a regional spillover of the conflict," a statement said after the discussions.
Abdullah’s sentiments come after Biden called Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, shortly after Monday’s deployment of IDF forces to the eastern areas of the Gazan city. The president reportedly expressed his disapproval of the maneuvers.
100,000 civilians in the area were evacuated to safe areas before the operation commenced.
Netanyahu has long insisted that the remaining terrorists in the city must be eliminated to fulfill his country’s goal of preventing Hamas from ever taking control of the coastal enclave again.
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