US to halt some arms supplies if Israel invades Rafah
US President Joe Biden has issued his strongest warning to Israel as they launch a major ground operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Biden has told Israel that the US will stop supplying some weapons if it goes ahead with the ground invasion. The area has already experienced heavy strikes in recent days and civilians have been told to evacuate parts of the area. Israeli tanks now control the Gaza side of The Rafah Border Crossing – a key route for humanitarian aid.
Rafah is currently sheltering more than 1 million people. Many refugees moved into Rafah from other parts of Gaza and there are growing fears that a ground invasion could lead to mass civilian deaths.
“If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah”
Joe Biden
“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 the warning, Israel appears set to mount a large-scale invasion of Rafah.
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“We’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells,” 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.”
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”.
@itsrachelscott The US has provided aid and weapons to #Israel but warns not to go into #rafah . #gaza #news #biden