RAMALLAH, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian presidency said Tuesday that Israel would not dare to continue its assault in Gaza without U.S. support.

Palestinian Presidency spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh made the remarks in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements earlier in the day that an invasion of Rafah is imminent, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

"The blind U.S. bias towards Israel, and its protection from punishment and submission to international legitimacy, has proven that the U.S. administration has become a partner in Netanyahu's crimes and bears full responsibility for the continuation of genocide," said Rudeineh.

He said the U.S. administration should intervene immediately and compel Israel "to stop its crimes, foremost of which is preventing the invasion of Rafah, which would have very serious repercussions on the region as a whole and the world."

He also called on the international community to intervene to prevent Israel from continuing its aggression.

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu pledged to launch a ground attack on Rafah "with or without" an agreement with Hamas.

During his meeting with the families of hostages held in Gaza, Netanyahu said that Israel had begun evacuating Palestinian civilians from Rafah, according to his office.

Israel considers Rafah the last major stronghold of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Located in the southernmost part of the Strip, Rafah shelters approximately 1.2 million Palestinians.

Netanyahu made these statements at a time when negotiators from Israel and Hamas are holding talks through Egyptian mediation to reach an agreement to cease hostilities in the ongoing conflict in Gaza for about seven months, which would ensure the release of hostages. Enditem

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