Biden threatens to cut Israel off from bombs and artillery shells if they invade Rafah
Joe Biden vowed there would be consequences if Israel crosses his red line with a major invasion of Rafah.
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- President Joe Biden underlined his threat to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- The White House has warned Israel of what will happen if they launch a large invasion of Rafah.
- Biden said he would cut off Israel from offensive weapons if such an invasion occurred.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday underlined his warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if there's a large invasion of Rafah, vowing to cut the US ally off from offensive weapons.
"We're going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently," Biden told CNN's Erin Burnett in an interview that will air later on Wednesday. "But it's, it's just wrong. We're not going to — we're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells."
Israel has considered for weeks whether to launch a major invasion of Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, where more than a million Palestinians have fled. Israel's military has confirmed that it has asked those there to leave parts of the city ahead of an operation. United Nations officials have warned that an invasion would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.
According to the Associated Press, Israeli tanks have already entered Rafah. Biden characterized the current level of Israeli involvement as short of the attacks on "population centers" that would spark his ire.
Biden has reaffirmed the US' long-standing commitment to Israel's security, but he has expressed consternation over how Netanyahu and his war cabinet have led the war against Hamas since the terrorist organization's October 7 attacks.
In a stunning admission, Biden said that US-provided weapons had been used to kill civilians. The health ministry in Gaza has said more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war.
"Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers," Biden said.
Already, the Biden administration has paused 3,500 bombs to Israel. Republicans in Congress, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have slammed that move. Biden is also facing immense political pressure on the left as protests on college campuses throughout the nation challenge his support for Israel.