It's the first time that Biden has said publicly that the U.S. would halt supplying Israel with arms if it attacks Rafah.
Share on email on Wednesday that if Israel invades the Gaza city of Rafah, the U.S. will stop supplying it with artillery shells, bombs for fighter jets and other offensive weapons.This is the first time that Biden or any other official in his administration has said publicly that an Israel i militaryMore than a million Palestinians have taken refuge in Rafah in recent months.
The Biden administration opposes a broad Israel Defense Forces ground operation in Rafah that would not include a credible plan to protect civilians.On Monday night, the IDF took control of the Rafah crossing in the eastern outskirts of the city of Rafah and began evacuating the population from several neighborhoods in the area. However, the IDF did not enter the city of Rafah itself."They haven't gotten into the population centers.
He noted that civilians in Gaza were killed as a result of Israel's use of U.S.-made bombs in populated areas. "I made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven't gone into Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I'm not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities," Biden said.The president emphasized that the U.S. will continue to provide Israel with defensive weapons such as funding for Iron Dome interceptors and other missile defense systems with which the Iranian attack on Israel was defeated.
"We're not walking away from Israel security, we're walking away from Israel's ability to wage war in those areas," Biden said.Share on twitter
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