Biden to halt some arms supplies if Israel invades Rafah
President Joe Biden has warned Israel that the US will stop supplying some weapons if it launches a major ground operation in the Gaza city of Rafah.
“If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah,” he said during an interview with CNN.
He added that he would “continue to make sure Israel is secure”.
Despite firm and vocal US opposition, Israel appears poised to mount a large-scale invasion of Rafah.
The congested part of southern Gaza is Hamas’s last major stronghold in the territory. US officials have warned that an operation in the city – where the population has swelled with refugees from other parts of Gaza – could lead to extensive civilian casualties.
“We’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells,” Mr Biden said in the interview, which aired on Wednesday.
He said the US did not define the current situation in Rafah as a ground operation. “They haven’t gone into the population centres. What they did is right on the border,” he said.
“But I’ve made it clear to [Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu] and the war cabinet, they’re not going to get our support, if in fact they go in these population centres.”
Mr Biden acknowledged that US weapons had been used by Israel to kill civilians in Gaza.
When asked if Israel had crossed a “red line”, the US president replied “not yet”.
The comments amount to the president’s strongest warning yet over a potential ground invasion of Rafah, and mark the first time he has said the US could stop shipments of American weapons to Israel.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN said the country was “very disappointed” by Mr Biden’s intervention. “This is a difficult and very disappointing statement to hear from a president to whom we have been grateful since the beginning of the war,” Gilad Erdan told Israeli public broadcaster Kan radio.
The US has already delayed a shipment of thousands of bombs to Israel, and has said it is reviewing future deliveries.
On Wednesday, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the delay of the bomb shipment – some of the most destructive munitions in Western military arsenals – while testifying in front of the Senate.
The weapons being held back by the US are related to a future delivery, so the move is unlikely to have an immediate impact. But given the rate at which Israel is bombing it will probably affect future strikes fairly soon.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, has said that the two countries will resolve disagreements “behind closed doors”.
(BBC)
