President Joe Biden called Israels U.S.-backed military operation in Gaza over the top at a White House press conference Thursday night. Shortly before that, his administration released a new policy it claimed would ensure foreign countries dont use U.S. military assistance to break international and U.S. laws protecting civilians.

But then Friday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that his forces will soon invade the most populous section of Gaza that they dont yet control: the southern town of Rafah. Close to 1.5 million Palestinians are seeking shelter there and on the narrow strip of land that runs from Rafah to the Mediterranean Sea, many of them after fleeing from northern areas after Israeli evacuation orders. Netanyahu said Israel plans to evacuate people from Rafah ahead of a massive attack.

Experts and officials tell HuffPost they are extremely skeptical of suggestions this week from the Biden administration that it is adjusting U.S. policy to prevent further devastation in Gaza, where, according to health officials there, at least 28,000 people have been killed since Israel launched its campaign following the Oct. 7 attack by Gaza-based militants that killed 1,200 Israelis.

Bidens Thursday night rebuke of Israel did not come with any indication that he will reduce U.S. military and diplomatic support for Israel if it continues on its current trajectory. And though his new memo directing officials to ensure U.S. weapon transfers abide by the law sounds nice on paper, the administration is unlikely to actually enforce it in this case because Washington is so wary of steps that appear unsupportive toward Israel. Even in the best-case scenario, the memo would not affect hostilities in the days ahead.

In Massachusetts on Friday, Heiam Alsawalhi read Netanyahus announcement about pushing civilians out of Rafah and was left with a question: Where will they go?

Alsawalhi is a Palestinian American whose sister and her family of eight are living in a one-room shelter in Rafah. Hundreds of U.S. citizens remain trapped in Gaza despite promises by the Biden administration to help them leave through the tightly controlled southern border crossing into Egypt, and thousands of Americans have close relatives who are also stuck in the region, many of whom are eligible for U.S. assistance with evacuations but have yet to leave.

Unfortunately, our government only provides funds to the aggressors, Alsawalhi told HuffPost. As a taxpayer, my money goes into killing my people, the indigenous people of Palestine. I feel so ashamed.

The new policy of oversight on U.S. military assistance, crafted in collaboration with Democratic senators led by Chris Van Hollen (Md.), creates some useful hooks to hold the administration accountable in a few months but does nothing for the Palestinians who are suffering today, said Josh Paul, a former State Department official overseeing arms transfers who is now at the Democracy for the Arab World Now nonprofit. The laws that this policy refers to are already on the books and are not being enforced.

Israel is already preparing for a fresh surge of tough international scrutiny this month because of the International Court of Justice case over its conduct in Gaza. Israel must submit a report to the so-called World Court in The Hague, Netherlands, by Feb. 26 to show what it is doing to obey measures to shield civilians that the judges had ordered when on Jan. 26 they dealt Israel and the U.S. a blow by refusing to dismiss a claim that Israel is committing genocide. While Israel is preparing a response, which is expected to note steps such as investigations of war crimes by soldiers, as recently revealed by Haaretz, its report will likely be unable to show significant improvement. Aid groups say Gaza continues to deteriorate dramatically amid bombardment and a siege.