Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his country’s intent to carry out military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah despite strong international preemptive condemnation.

More than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah after fleeing south when Israeli forces carried out operations in the northern part of Gaza. Israeli troops have moved south over the course of the war, but they still haven’t allowed Palestinians to move back north. Palestinians have been fleeing further and further south, but there is nowhere left to go because Rafah is near Gaza’s border with Egypt.

World leaders have warned about the possibility of significant civilian casualties if Israeli forces carry out attacks in Rafah targeting Hamas, but Israel remains committed, arguing that it needs to in order to defeat Hamas.

“We will fight until complete victory, and this includes a powerful action also in Rafah after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones,” Netanyahu said on Telegram on Wednesday.

It’s unclear where Netanyahu and the Israelis intend to let the Palestinians evacuate and whether they will be out of harm’s way. More than 27,000 people have been killed in the war, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, though that total does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The Biden administration has largely supported Israel’s right to self-defense while encouraging it to do more to prevent civilian casualties. However, officials have said they would not support Israeli operations in Rafah without a credible plan for how to protect civilians.

As the war continues, rifts have emerged between President Joe Biden and Netanyahu, though they have not yet led to a change in U.S. policy. In their latest public dispute, Biden and his State Department committed to pursuing Palestinian statehood in long-term negotiations, while Netanyahu spoke against the idea.

“Now is not the time to be speaking about gifts for the Palestinian people,” said Avi Hyman, spokesman for the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, according to CNN. “Now is the time for victory — total victory against Hamas. And we will continue on the path to victory. All discussions about the day after Hamas will be had the day after Hamas.”

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Similarly, Netanyahu told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state “would be a prize for those who planned and orchestrated the Oct. 7 massacre,” according to Axios.

However, the United States is hoping Israel and Hamas can agree to a weekslong ceasefire agreement that would include the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas, which would give them time to work toward a more permanent and lasting solution. The Biden administration is hoping for a long-term plan that would include Israeli-Saudi normalization and the creation of a Palestinian state.