US Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters traveling with her on Air Force Two she doesn’t see a safe way for civilians to evacuate Rafah ahead of a possible Israeli ground offensive into the city in the southern Gaza Strip.
“I’ve looked at the maps, I’ve studied the maps, there is nowhere for those people to go,” Harris said before departing for Puerto Rico Friday, according to reporters. “One and a half million people of a population of 2.2 million people who are now in that area — and let's remember why they are there, because they were told to go there.”
Harris’ comments come as US President Joe Biden's administration prepares to welcome a team of top Israeli officials to Washington next week as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signals he remains intent on entering the southern Gaza city, American urging notwithstanding.