2024-05-09 08:41:32
US President Biden is now withdrawing US support from Israel in the event of an offensive in Rafah in the very south of the Gaza Strip. “If Israel invades Rafah, I will not provide the weapons that have been used throughout history to fight the problem,” Biden said in an interview with CNN that aired on Wednesday evening (local time). Israel will not receive any support from the United States if it attacks densely populated population centers.
“The bombs that the United States delivered to Israel and are now being released were used to kill civilians,” the US president added. The US government had already withheld a shipment of ammunition to the Israeli armed forces because of Israel’s actions in the city of Rafah.
Israeli soldiers advanced into parts of Rafah in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night. According to its own statements, the army also took control of the border crossing on the Palestinian side. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the operation in Rafah is aimed at freeing the remaining hostages and destroying Hamas. The USA, as Israel’s most important ally, had repeatedly warned Israel’s government in recent days and weeks against a large-scale ground offensive in Rafah – Biden spoke of a “red line” in March.
Now the US president argued that the Israeli military has not yet “advanced into the population centers – what they have done is right on the border.” He made it clear to Netanyahu and his war cabinet that they could not count on US support “if they actually go to these population centers.” It is “simply wrong” – and the USA cannot provide the weapons and artillery for it.
The US would continue to ensure that Israel is “safe” with regard to the Iron Dome missile defense system and its ability to respond to attacks. However, he made it clear to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war cabinet “that they will not receive our support if they actually go to these population centers.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had recently confirmed that the US was already withholding an ammunition shipment to the Israeli armed forces because of Israel’s actions in Rafah. The US government made it clear from the beginning that Israel should not launch a major attack in Rafah without taking into account and protecting the civilians in the area, Austin said. While the US government is assessing the situation, the delivery of ammunition has been stopped. He didn’t give any details.
The White House was also very reserved and did not reveal any details. When asked about media reports that the shipment would contain thousands of bombs, spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said she would not comment.
In the CNN interview, Biden was asked whether civilians had been killed in Gaza with the type of US bombs whose delivery is currently on hold. Biden said: “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a result of these bombs and other methods they use to attack population centers.”
At the same time, Biden made it clear that the US government would continue to ensure that Israel had sufficient military equipment for its own defense, such as the Iron Dome missile defense system.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, said he was “very disappointed” by Biden’s threat to restrict arms deliveries to Israel. “This is a difficult and very disappointing statement from a president to whom we have been grateful since the beginning of the war,” Erdan told Israeli broadcaster Kan on Thursday. Biden’s comments would be interpreted by Israel’s enemies Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah as something “that gives them hope for success.” If Israel is prevented from entering “an area as important and central as Rafah, where thousands of terrorists, hostages and Hamas leaders are located, how exactly are we supposed to achieve our goals,” Erdan said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) sounded the alarm about hospitals in southern Gaza. The clinics only had three days’ worth of fuel left. Medical care in the clinics is in danger of soon coming to a standstill, explained WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
He criticized the Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah in the south of the Palestinian territory. This “further limits our ability to reach thousands of people who live in catastrophic conditions,” wrote Tedros. “This must stop now.”
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