Joe Biden warns Israel: US will withhold weapons if it invades Rafah
Joe Biden on Wednesday publicly warned Israel for the first time that the U.S. would stop supplying it weapons if Israeli forces make a major invasion of Rafah, a refugee-packed city in southern Gaza.
«I made it clear that 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 — that deal with that problem,» Biden said in an interview with CNN.
Biden's comments represent his strongest public language to date in his effort to deter an Israeli assault on Rafah while underscoring a growing rift between the U.S. and its strongest ally in the Middle East.
Biden acknowledged U.S. weapons have been used by Israel to kill civilians in Gaza, where Israel has mounted a seven-month-old offensive aimed at annihilating Hamas. Israel's campaign has so far killed 34,789 Palestinians, mostly civilians, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
«Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,» he said when asked about 2,000-pound bombs sent to Israel.
A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington had carefully reviewed the delivery of weapons that might be used in Rafah and as a result paused a shipment consisting of 1,800 2,000-pound (907-kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs.
Israel's U.N. ambassador, Gilad Erdan, earlier this week called Washington's decision to delay shipments «very disappointing» although he did not believe the U.S. would stop
