President Joe Biden discussed the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday during a sit-down interview, sharing that he would not support Israel invading the Gaza city of Rafah.
Israel says that Hamas still has a strong footing in Rafah and has reportedly been considering launching an invasion. However, also in Rafah are more than a million Palestinians who have been taking refuge there over the last few months.
While talking with CNN on Wednesday, Biden appeared to draw a line in the sand, saying he would not supply Israel with artillery shells, bombs for fighter jets, or other offensive weapons if the country invades the city.
“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.
Biden went on to say that he shared his thoughts directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that if they went into population centers in Rafah, the US would no longer send munitions to aid its war.
The comments from Biden are among the harshest he’s shared of Israel since the war began following Hamas’s surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
His administration has made it clear that it opposes a broad Israel Defense Forces ground operation in Farah that doesn’t include a credible plan to ensure the protection and safety of civilians.
Axios reported, citing a senior US official, that the administration has already put a hold on a shipment of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs in response to the possibility of Israel moving into Rafah.
On Monday night, the IDF moved into the Rafah crossing, taking control in the eastern outskirts of the city. It then began evacuating the population from neighborhoods in the area. It has still yet to move into the city itself.
“They haven’t gotten into the population centers. What they did was right on the border, and it’s causing problems with, right now, in terms of with Egypt,” Biden said.
While Biden overtly set boundaries with Israel’s war efforts on Wednesday, he did share that he doesn’t plan to leave them out to dry, saying the US would still provide the country with defensive weaponry.
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts
“We’re not walking away from Israel security. We’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas,” Biden said.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok