May 9 (UPI) — President Joe Biden said the United States will not supply Israel with offensive weapons to be used in Rafah if its military goes through with a full invasion of the city in southern Gaza.
“I’ve made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gone into Rafah yet — I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with the problem,” the president said Wednesday in an interview with CNN.
The comment was made hours after Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed before a Senate hearing that the United States has paused sending a shipment of high-payload bombs to Israel over concerns of the Middle Eastern country’s impending invasion of Rafah, where there are some 1.4 million Palestinians refuging amid the war.
The secretary explained the pause was to allow for re-evaluation, that the high-payload bombs in the shipment may not be suitable for city warfare and that the United States has been clear with Israel that it needs to do more to protect civilians.
The Biden administration has been staunch supporters of Israel amid its war, sending it billions in weapons.
But as the war has dragged on, and the devastation of the Palestinian enclave has deepened and the death toll has ballooned into the tens of thousands, it has voiced criticism of Israel’s combat strategy and has made calls on it to protect civilian life.
Meanwhile, Israel is arguing that it needs to enter Rafah to engage the remaining Hamas warriors hiding in the city, as Netanyahu has stated that the destruction of the militia is one of the conditions for victory in the war.
The United States and other countries, along with the United Nations, have warned against the invasion, stating it will lead to a humanitarian crisis.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday described the widely expected assault to be “a strategic mistake, a political calamity and a humanitarian nightmare.”
Expectations of the invasion heightened this week after Israel launched a small-scale incursion into Rafah, seizing control of a border crossing that connects Gaza with Israel.
Biden on Wednesday reiterated that the United States will continue to ensure Israel’s security, and will arm its Iron Dome air defense system as well as ensure its ability to respond to attacks like those recently from Iran, but it will not support it with weapons to be used in Rafah if its military carries out a full invasion of the city.
“It’s just wrong,” he said.
“But I’ve made it clear to Bibi and the War Cabinet, they’re not going to get our support if, in fact, they go into these population centers,” he said, referring to the Israeli leader by his nickname.
“We’re not walking away from Israel’s security, we’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas.”
Biden also acknowledged during the interview that U.S. bombs have killed civilians in Gaza, which has been besieged by war since Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a bloody surprise attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 Israelis and resulted in another 253 taken hostage.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, nearly 35,000 people in the enclave have been killed with another 78,000 injured.
