Rep. Ro Khanna Calls on Netanyahu to ‘Immediately Halt’ Rafah Offensive

California Representative Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) called on Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the military offensive against Hamas in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost town.

Khanna made his statement Sunday on X, formerly Twitter, adding a Silicon Valley voice to the condemnation of Israel’s operations in Rafah which have displaced nearly 1 million, according to the Associated Press.

“The horrific loss of life has just underscored what the entire world has been saying — that Netanyahu should not go into Rafah,” Khanna told KQED Tuesday. “There is going to be a huge loss of innocent lives. And that is why the entire world, including the ICJ, has been telling Netanyahu, ‘Don’t do it.’”

The ICJ is the International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ top court. Last week, it issued a 13-2 ruling ordering Israel to immediately halt military operations in Rafah. The court’s president, Nawaf Salam, said Isreal’s campaign must be stopped to prevent a genocide of the Palestinian people, according to The Guardian.

Israeli officials have said Rafah is essential to the war on Hamas, because it is the armed militant group’s last major stronghold, according to the Associated Press. But the United Nations has said Rafah is central to providing aid to displaced Palestinians.

Khanna told KQED he considers himself an ally of the relationship between the United States and Israel, but Netanyahu is in “blatant defiance” of President Joe Biden and world opinion.

Biden has been under pressure by progressive Democrats to stop supporting Netanyahu amid the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Earlier this month, Biden told CNN he’d suspend delivery of weapons to Israel, including bombs and fighter jets, if Rafah was invaded, calling it a “red line.”

According to CNN, the White House told reporters Tuesday that the recent Israeli strike that killed 45 civilians in a Rafah tent camp would not spur “policy changes,” though the administration said it would monitor Israel’s investigation.

Netanyahu said he will continue the war against Hamas despite the international condemnation of the Rafah strike, which he referred to as a “tragic mishap,” according to the BBC.

Khanna said Biden needs to deliver on his promise to Israel.

“Now it is on the president to uphold what he described as a ‘red line’ and for there to be consequences,” Khanna said, adding that U.S. officials told Netanyahu that he is “not going to militarily eradicate the 30,000 Hamas fighters.”

“He’s fighting a strategy against an insurgency that’s just strategically a failure,” Khanna continued. “And the president should make it clear that he’s not going to supply any new offensive weapons to Netanyahu for a failed strategy.”