Israel's operation in Rafah 'doesn't cross US red lines'

NEW YORK, May 29 (BBC/AP): The US does not believe Israel's actions in Rafah amount to a "major ground operation" that could cross a red line for President Joe Biden and trigger a possible change in US policy, the White House has said.
Spokesman John Kirby addressed reporters hours after Israeli forces reached the centre of the city in southern Gaza, and reportedly seized a strategically important hill.
Mr Biden recently said he would limit weapons supplies to Israel if it entered Rafah's "population centres", where hundreds of thousands of civilians are still believed to be sheltering.
Mr Kirby was also questioned about an Israeli strike and a resulting fire that killed at least 45 Palestinians on Sunday. Many of them were women, children, or elderly, who were sheltering at a camp for displaced people.
Israel has said the strike targeted and killed two senior Hamas officials, and that it believes the fire could have been caused by an explosion at a Hamas weapons store nearby.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Kirby described images from the aftermath of the strike as "heartbreaking" and "horrific". "There should be no innocent life lost here as a result of this conflict," he added.
The US state department said it was watching closely for the Israeli military to conduct a quick and thorough investigation into the strike.
Pressed by BBC correspondent Tom Bateman on whether previous such investigations had led to accountability, state department spokesman Matthew Miller declined to name specific cases.
Palestinians living in Rafah
tents, searching for food
The tent camps stretch more than 16 kilometers (10 miles) along Gaza's coast, filling the beach and sprawling into empty lots, fields and streets. Families dig trenches to use as toilets. Fathers search for food and water. Children dig through garbage and wrecked buildings for wood or cardboard for their mothers to burn for cooking.
Over the past three weeks, Israel's offensive in Rafah has sent nearly a million Palestinians fleeing the southern Gaza city. Most have already been displaced multiple times during Israel's nearly 8-month-old war in Gaza, which is aimed at destroying Hamas but has devastated the territory and caused what the United Nations says is a near-famine.
The situation has been worsened by a plunge in the amount of food, fuel and other supplies reaching the U.N. and other aid groups to distribute to the population.