As Biden Warns Against Rafah Invasion, AIPAC Pushes Congress to Support Israel’s Operation

In the face of increasing skepticism in Washington around Israel’s planned invasion of Rafah, where some 1.4 million displaced Palestinians take refuge, the America Israel Public Affairs Committee spent this week lobbying Congress to support the operation. 

In talking points sent to congressional offices on Tuesday and reviewed by The Intercept, AIPAC argued that invading Rafah is the only way to take out Hamas, and that Israel had “no other option.”

“There is no example in recent military history of defeating a force like Hamas in Rafah without entering the city,” read the talking points. “Commando raids and arms embargoes can have a positive impact but will not defeat Hamas.”

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For more than a week, officials in Washington have been speaking out against Israel’s plan to invade Rafah, and on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said that the U.S. would stop supplying Israel with heavy weapons should it move forward with its plans. He also admitted that Israel has killed civilians with U.S. bombs. Last week, 57 House Democrats wrote to Biden, saying “an offensive invasion into Rafah by Israel in the upcoming days is wholly unacceptable” and urging him to pause weapon shipments. The Biden administration made the unprecedented move to halt one shipment of offensive weapons to Israel, and on Wednesday, the State Department said that the administration is “reviewing” other arms shipments.

The AIPAC memo describes the invasion as a “limited operation” targeting Hamas, and it notes that Israel is encouraging Palestinian civilians to move into “humanitarian zones” to the north. 

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Horrific images of this “limited operation” have already circulated: a heavily burnt boy lying on a gurney next to his decapitated father, young children crushed beneath the rubble of their bombed home, and first responders picking through remains of Palestinians. For hundreds of thousands of hungry, injured, and sick Palestinians who have been displaced repeatedly over the last seven months, Rafah was supposed to be the last safe refuge.

In its messaging to Congress, the pro-Israel lobby also claims Israeli forces have taken important steps to limit civilian casualties. Israel’s bombings of Rafah, which have continued for months, suggest a different picture. A pair of Israeli airstrikes in late April killed a man, his pregnant wife, and their 3-year-old child, along with another 17 children and two women from an extended family.

AIPAC also argued that “continued war in Gaza is only necessary because Hamas continues to refuse to surrender and free the hostages.” Hamas continues to hold an estimated 132 hostages who it captured on October 7, an issue that has been central to ongoing ceasefire negotiations. Yet last week, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu vowed to invade Rafah “with or without a deal” on the hostages.

In its talking points, AIPAC argues that Hamas’s acceptance of a ceasefire proposal was a “cynical ploy” since the group accepted its own proposal, and not one that Israel had previously accepted (a key sticking point for Hamas has been a permanent end to the hostilities). The proposal Hamas agreed to was brokered by Egypt and Qatar. Axios reported that Israeli officials claim the U.S. was aware of the negotiations and guaranteed to Hamas through mediators that a hostage deal would end the war, and that the U.S. invited Israelis to Cairo, but they chose not to send a team. 

Nevertheless, AIPAC says, “Hamas is refusing to end the war by surrendering and freeing the hostages,” consequently arguing that invading Rafah and removing Hamas from power is necessary. Chaim Rubenstein, a former spokesperson for the families of the hostages, previously said that in the days after October 7, Hamas offered to immediately release all the hostages if the Israeli Defense Forces didn’t invade Gaza, but the Israeli government rejected the proposal.

Hamas released 105 hostages during a temporary ceasefire in November, and Israeli forces saved another three during rescue operations. The Israeli military has also killed at least four hostages during its military operations on Gaza, among the more than 34,000 Palestinians killed. 

Ahead of the Rafah operation, Rubenstein said hostage families weren’t notified about the invasion and the risks it could pose. “Netanyahu has thwarted” the release of hostages, he said.

AIPAC did not respond to a request for comment.