Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu staunchly defended his decision to press ahead with an invasion of Rafah, a city on the southern border of the Gaza Strip, despite US President Joe Biden’s warning that such an offensive would be a “red line”, POLITICO reported. Netanyahu stressed he would not back down, citing the October 7 Hamas raid as a crucial factor in his determination.

Amid the raging war between Israel and Hamas, Biden, in an interview with MSNBC, criticised Netanyahu saying that he was “hurting more than helping” Israel by failing to limit casualties. In an exclusive interview with POLITICO, Netanyahu addressed concerns raised by President Biden, who expressed opposition to an escalation in Rafah, saying, “We’ll go there. We’re not going to leave. You know, I have a red line. You know what the red line is, that October 7 doesn’t happen again. Never happens again.”