How Israel can secure Rafah without devastating the civilian population

The Biden administration wants Israel to agree to multiple weeks of ceasefire with Hamas. It hopes that this will buy time to build political pressure on Israel to bring to an end its offensive against the terrorist group.

Biden wants the war done because of three factors: Palestinian civilian casualties, associated diplomatic pressure on the United States from its allies, and, most of all, Biden’s fear that the war’s continuation will lose him votes in the key 2024 swing state of Michigan.