Israel bombs Rafah, prepares for ground invasion after ceasefire talks with Hamas fall apart

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US officials believe full-scale invasion of Rafah would hurt Israel’s standing

Fox News State Department correspondent Gillian Turner reports on the Biden administration’s concerns about an Israeli invasion of Rafah on ‘Special Report.’

Israel continues a missile strike on the city of Rafah, Hamas’ last stronghold in Gaza, after ceasefire talks with the terrorist regime once again fell apart.  

During negotiation efforts in Cairo, Egypt, Hamas reportedly demanded an initial 12-week ceasefire, double the six-week timeframe offered by the Israeli Defense Force.

Air strikes continue on Rafah as the IDF marshals manpower and military equipment outside the city limits in preparation for a ground invasion.

BIDEN VOWS TO WITHHOLD WEAPONS FROM ISRAEL IF NETANYAHU GOES FORWARD WITH RAFAH INVASION

Thick, black smoke rises from a fire in a building caused by Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.  (AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinians have fled the city en masse as the conflict comes to a boiling point, with over 100,000 internally displaced refugees setting up tent cities and temporary shanty towns outside Rafah.

The Israeli government’s determination to enter Rafah is unpopular with Western powers, which have repeatedly urged the Jewish nation to avoid the operation due to the likely massive loss of civilian lives involved.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to follow through with the eradication of Hamas — even if it loses Israel its allies.

ISRAEL URGES PALESTINIANS TO EVACUATE RAFAH AHEAD  OF EXPECTED GROUND OPERATION IN HAMAS STRONGHOLD

Tents housing internally displaced Palestinians crowd the coastline in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. (AFP via Getty Images)

“If we must stand alone, we shall stand alone,” Netanyahu said. “If we must, we shall fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than our fingernails, and with that strength of spirit, with God’s help, together we shall be victorious.”

President Biden is vowing to withhold weapons from Israel if the Jewish State goes forward with its invasion of Rafah. 

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett in an interview released Wednesday. 

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A man looks on as thick, black smoke rises from a fire in a building caused by Israeli bombardment in Rafah. (AFP via Getty Images)

“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem,” Biden said.

Airstrikes were fired into Jabalya camp in the north of Gaza overnight. Further strikes occurred at the same time in the city of Khan Younis. A total of twelve people were killed in the bombings.

Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at timothy.nerozzi@fox.com