President Joe Biden's administration has repeatedly called on Israel to present a plan to protect civilians in Rafah, where some 1.5 million Palestinians have taken shelter from Israel's six-month-old war on Gaza.

"We have made clear to Israel that we think a full-scale military invasion of Rafah would have an enormously harmful effect on those civilians and that it would ultimately hurt Israel's security," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters when asked about Netanyahu's remarks.

"It's not just a question of Israel presenting a plan to us. We have made clear to them that we think that there is a better way to achieve what is a legitimate goal, which is to degrade and dismantle and defeat the Hamas battalions that still remain in Rafah," Miller said.

Netanyahu in a video statement Monday did not say when the incursion would incur into Rafah but said, "It will happen -- there is a date."

Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 33,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured more than 75,000 others, according to the Gaza health ministry.

This comes as the UN has warned of a looming famine in Gaza as Israel has blocked all land crossings into the territory making the delivery of aid to some 2.4 million Gazans almost impossible.

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