Rafah 'Annihilation' Could Deal Huge Blow to Joe Biden

The White House is pressing Israeli leaders not to proceed with their planned assault on the Gaza Strip's "last refuge" of Rafah, where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering after more than six months of war in the Mediterranean exclave.

President Joe Biden's administration has been hoping to dissuade an Israeli assault on Rafah, repeatedly warning it does not support any plan that does not include an adequate humanitarian element to protect civilians in the southern border town.

The U.S. had hoped that a ceasefire would preclude such an offensive, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that he plans to assault Rafah regardless.

"The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question," the embattled prime minister said. "We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas' battalions there—with or without a deal, to achieve the total victory."

Any Rafah assault would mark another failure for Biden's Gaza response, which has sought to maintain "ironclad" backing of Israel while also pressing Netanyahu and his war Cabinet to minimize civilian casualties and allow more humanitarian aid into the devastated Strip.

"Genocide Joe"—as some pro-Palestinian advocates have dubbed the president—has struggled to square his strategy with some elements of the Democratic base, particularly young voters and voters of color.

The fierce pro-Palestinian protests erupting on college campuses nationwide are the most visible expression yet of the fury among America's youth. Students are pressing their colleges to divest from companies tied to Israel, and therefore to its actions in Gaza they say constitute a genocide.

The November election will not be won or lost based on the votes of these college protesters, most of whom are thought unlikely to vote for former President Donald Trump for reasons including his well-established support of Israel. But the spiraling crisis might unsettle vital swing state voters.

Wisconsin's Democratic primary offered a potent warning sign for the president. More than 47,000 people voted "uninstructed" there in protest of the government's backing of Israel. Biden won the state and its 10 Electoral College votes by just 21,000 votes in 2020.

In Michigan too—its 16 Electoral College votes going to Biden in 2020 thanks to his 154,000-voter lead over Trump there—Democrats expressed their anger. More than 100,000 people there cast primary ballots as "uncommitted."

Almost 7,500 people voted uncommitted in the Democratic primary for Nevada, which in 2020 narrowly went to Biden with its six Electoral College votes thanks to just 33,596 votes.

Another 89,000 or so North Carolinians voted uncommitted, a potential concern for the Biden campaign given he lost the state's 15 Electoral College votes to Trump in 2020 by a margin of only 74,483.

Newsweek has contacted the White House by email to request comment.

Far-right members of Netanyahu's Cabinet are ignoring American appeals for restraint and banging the drum for even more punitive action in Gaza, where health authorities cited by the Associated Press have reported more than 34,000 people killed and swathes of the territory razed.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) assault followed Hamas' October 7 infiltration attack, which killed some 1,200 people in Israel and saw more than 250 taken hostage. The IDF has lost 263 troops killed in Gaza to date, 43 of whom are believed to have been killed by friendly fire.

"There are no half measures," Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich—who also serves as the de facto governor of the occupied West Bank and has pushed to expand illegal settlements—said on Monday, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz. "Rafah, Deir Al-Balah, Nuseira—total annihilation."

Fellow far-right leader and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir last month suggested executing Palestinian militant prisoners to free up space in detention centers. And this week, the minister reportedly asked the IDF chief of staff of fighters captured in Gaza: "Why are there so many arrests? Can't you kill some?"