President Biden acknowledged Wednesday that American bombs have been used to kill Palestinian civilians while warning that the United States would withdraw some weapons if Israel carries out a long-threatened attack in southern Gaza.
In some of his strongest language to date on the seven-month war, Mr. Biden said the United States would still ensure Israel’s security, including the Iron Dome missile defense system and “capabilities.” respond to Israel’s attacks” in the same way as Iran. launched in April.
However, he said he would prevent the transfer of weapons that could be fired into populated areas of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have taken refuge.
The President already has it Temporarily stop shipping of 3,500 bombs last week amid fears they could be used in a major attack on Rafah – the first time since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 that Mr Biden has made use of the weapons of America to try to influence the way the war was fought.
On Wednesday, he said he would also block the supply of artillery shells.
“If they go into Rafah, I will not provide the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem,” Mr. Biden said. an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett.
He added: “But it’s wrong. We will not – we will not supply used weapons and shells.”
Asked whether 2,000-pound US bombs were used to kill civilians in Gaza, Mr. Biden said: “Civilians have died in Gaza as a result of those bombs and other ways that they attack population centers.”
Biden’s remarks underscore a growing rift between the United States and its closest ally in the Middle East over the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 people and sparked a humanitarian crisis. The United States is by far the country largest arms supplier to Israel and the Biden administration has plans send a report to the National Assembly this week assesses whether they believe Israel’s assurances that it used American weapons in accordance with U.S. and international law.
Mr. Biden has rejected previous calls for aid to Israel. Mr. Biden remained steadfast in his support of Israel’s right to self-defense, even as he spoke out strongly against the Rafah invasion and became increasingly frustrated with what he once described as Israel bombed indiscriminately.”
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel rejected US warnings, saying that Israel will continue to destroy Hamas even if if you have to do it alone.
This week, Israel’s war cabinet voted unanimously to launch an attack on Rafah and Israeli forces warned more than 100,000 civilians to evacuate as the country began what it called targeted attack” against Hamas.
US officials said this week that Israel has stated that its activity so far in Rafah is “limited” and “designed to cut off Hamas’s ability to transport weapons into Gaza”, but continues to express concern with the escalation.
Mr. Biden said so far he does not consider Israel’s activities in Rafah to be a full-scale invasion because they have not attacked “population centers.”
But he said he considered them “right on the border”, adding that they were causing problems with key allies such as Egypt, which is integral to ceasefire and opening talks border for humanitarian aid.
Mr. Biden said he made it clear to Mr. Netanyahu and his war cabinet that they would receive no support if they continued to attack populated areas.
“We are not abandoning Israel’s security, but we are abandoning Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas,” he said.
Mr. Biden was also asked about the Gaza protests on college campuses — especially chants calling him “Genocide Joe” — that have erupted in recent weeks.
When asked if he heard the message of those young Americans, Mr. Biden said:
“Sure, I heard the message.”
