The administration of US President Joe Biden indicated that it does not believe that the Israeli operation to control the Rafah crossing exceeds the “red line” set by President Joe Biden, which may lead to a shift in US policy towards the Gaza war, according to statements by the spokesman for strategic affairs in the White House, John Kirby, or US State Department spokesman Matthew Mill, who insisted that “the Israeli operation in Rafah is a limited operation.”

Miller said in his response to the question of the Al-Quds.com correspondent, regarding the “Israeli operation in Rafah” and whether it is possible for the Israelis to carry out a number of limited operations, which ultimately constitutes a major operation, and whether it would be satisfactory to the Biden administration: “I will not speculate.” With some hypothetical scenarios that might happen in the future, there is clearly a point where a series of limited processes become one large process, and that means that this theoretical point is clearly correct, but as for what might happen, I will not speculate or comment on that Such an assumption.

The Biden administration has expressed its deep concern about the possibility of a major Israeli military invasion of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than one million four hundred thousand displaced Palestinians are sheltered.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that a “major operation” in Rafah would harm US-Israeli relations.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a Financial Times conference in Washington on Saturday that the Biden administration made clear to Israel that the way it carries out an operation in Rafah will affect American policy towards the Gaza war.

American officials said that the Biden administration is considering suspending arms shipments to Israel or imposing conditions on the use of specific American weapons systems if it carries out a major operation in Rafah.

Axios reported on Sunday that the Biden administration last week halted a shipment of American-made ammunition to Israel.

This was the first time since October 7 that the United States stopped an arms shipment that was destined for the Israeli army, and Israeli officials considered this a warning signal from Washington.

It is noteworthy that on Monday, the Israeli occupation army began storming the eastern part of the besieged city of Rafah, and seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

Prior to the operation, the Israeli army began evacuating Palestinian civilians from four neighborhoods in eastern Rafah, close to the crossing.

According to Axios, Israeli and American officials said that “the operation at the Rafah crossing occurred during a phone call between Biden and Netanyahu on Monday, and that Biden did not break his hand when seizing the Rafah crossing during the call.”

White House spokesman John Kirby said in a press conference on Tuesday that Biden's message to Netanyahu during the call focused on his opposition to a major ground operation in Rafah that would put the lives of many civilians at risk.

He said that Israel informed the United States that the operation at the Rafah crossing is limited in scope and time and aims to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons across the border with Egypt, noting that the Israelis “did not describe it as a major ground operation,” pointing out that Biden confirmed in his call with Netanyahu that The United States will follow the process to ensure that this is the case.

Kirby said the administration's main focus is to reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza and the Rafah crossing as soon as possible so that much-needed aid can flow into Gaza.

According to Axios, two senior US officials said, “The Israelis have also made it clear that they want to seize the Rafah crossing in order to pressure Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in hostage talks.”

Israel says that the Rafah crossing is a strategic location for Hamas because it can control aid trucks coming from Egypt, collect taxes and signal that it is still the ruler of Gaza.

According to Axios, one American official said that Biden is dealing with this matter in the same way he dealt with Israeli retaliation against the Iranian attack, that is, putting pressure on Israel not to do that, and then accepting something limited. “If that's all they're going to do, we can accommodate that, but there's a lot of tension about what's next,” the official said.

On Monday, Hamas agreed to a proposal for a truce that would lead to a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.