Free Republic

President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a 45-minute telephone call Sunday not to attack Hamas’s last stronghold in Rafah without a credible plan to evacuate the roughly one million Palestinian civilians there. A White House readout of the call said: President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke this morning with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. The President reaffirmed our shared goal to see Hamas defeated and to ensure the long-term security of Israel and its people. The President and the Prime Minister discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas....

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari on Monday morning gave a statement on the Sunday night rescue of two hostages, Fernando Simon Marman (60) and Louis Har (70), during an IDF operation in Rafah. In his statement, Hagari said, "This was a complex rescue operation carried out under fire in the heart of Rafah, and based on quality intelligence. The ISA's operational unit, the police, Southern Command, Shayetet 13, and Brigade 7 of the Armored Corps carried out this professional and precise action. This is an operation which we prepared for over the course of some time - the necessary preparations were...