February 13, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

The US has called on the Israeli government to investigate the death of 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said on Monday.

Rajab was found dead this weekend after being trapped in a car for Gaza City with members of her family who were reportedly shot to death by Israeli forces weeks ago.

Rescue workers dispatched to find her were also reportedly shot and killed. 

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff cast doubt Monday on the idea that Iran wants war with the United States, telling NBC’s Lestor Holt, “I don’t know that they do.” 

Brown’s comments come after at least 170 attacks by Iran-backed groups on US and coalition forces in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan since October 17.

US President Joe Biden discussed a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas which would include a six-week pause in fighting with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House on Monday.

The US president said that in the past month, he had participated in talks about a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of Qatar and Egypt.

Biden said he’s been working “day and night,” along with Abdullah, to bring home hostages held by Hamas and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.

He also thanked the king for conducting an airdrop of medical supplies to the region.

Speaking about Israel's planned ground offensive into Rafah, Biden said the country “should not proceed without a credible plan" to ensure the safety of people sheltering in the city.

The Biden administration is deeply concerned about an Israeli operation that rescued two hostages out of Rafah but may have also resulted in about one hundred Palestinians being killed as part of that operation, according to a senior administration official.

The hostages were rescued Monday after 128 days in captivity.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that more than 100 people were killed in strikes that the Israeli military carried out in Rafah overnight. It did not specify how many of those were militants. 

US officials are still gathering information on the rescue operation, but such a high rate of Palestinian deaths would be deeply worrisome, the US official said.

Some background: Tension between President Joe Biden's administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has intensified in recent days as Israel has said that it is preparing to go into Rafah. US officials have expressed strong concerns to their Israeli counterparts about the feasibility of safely moving the large civilian population out of the area.

US President Joe Biden is growing increasingly frustrated behind the scenes with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, telling advisers and others that the prime minister is ignoring his advice and obstructing efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Biden has stopped short of directly criticizing Netanyahu in public. But he has become increasingly critical of Israel’s tactics, saying last week he believes the campaign in Gaza is “over the top.”

In private, Biden has been more willing to offer unvarnished thoughts on Netanyahu, including his deep irritation that Netanyahu has not followed through on American recommendations to de-intensify military tactics in Gaza. 

The tension between the Biden administration and Netanyahu’s government has only intensified in recent days over Israel’s preparations for a ground incursion into Rafah, where more than 1.3 million people are seeking refuge

The Biden administration is highly skeptical about whether Netanyahu’s direction to Israel’s military for an “evacuation of the population” out of Rafah before Israel forces go in is even remotely feasible.

CNN's Arlette Saenz contributed reporting to this post.