For the first time, President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that in the event that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a significant assault of the city of Rafah, he would stop certain American weapons supplies to Israel, which he recognized had been used to murder people in Gaza.
"People have lost their lives in Gaza due to those bombs and other methods used to target population centers," Biden said in an exclusive interview with CNN's Erin Burnett on "Erin Burnett OutFront," alluding to the bombs weighing two thousand pounds, the shipments of which he had stopped last week.
"I made it clear that I am 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, adding that they had not entered Rafah yet.
The seven-month battle between Israel and Hamas has reached a turning point with the president's declaration that he was willing to tie American armaments to Israel's behavior. Furthermore, his admission that American bombs had been used to murder people in Gaza was a clear admission of America's involvement in the conflict.
In the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the president is under intense pressure to restrict weapons supplies, even from members of his own party.
The president has up to now rejected their requests and firmly backed Israel's pursuit of Hamas. However, the president's calculations seem to have changed in light of the impending assault of Rafah, the southern Gazan metropolis where over a million Palestinian residents have sought refuge.
"We will not abandon Israel's security." We are removing Israel's capacity to carry out warfare in those regions," said Biden.
Biden said that in the event of a significant ground assault of Rafah, the US will stop sending defensive weaponry to Israel, including for its Iron Dome air defense system.
"We will persist in guaranteeing Israel's security concerning Iron Dome and their capacity to counter recent attacks emanating from the Middle East," he said. However, that is plain incorrect. We never will—we will not provide the guns and artillery munitions."
As a result of Israel's potential activities in Rafah without providing for the residents there, the US has already halted a supply of "high-payload munitions," according to the Pentagon, even though it said that a final decision had not yet been taken on that cargo. According to the government, it is investigating the possible transfer or sale of further weapons.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Israeli officials privately conveyed to US officials their "deep frustration" about the halt in shipments and the US media briefings on the decision.
"People have lost their lives in Gaza due to those bombs and other methods used to target population centers," Biden said in an exclusive interview with CNN's Erin Burnett on "Erin Burnett OutFront," alluding to the bombs weighing two thousand pounds, the shipments of which he had stopped last week.
"I made it clear that I am 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, adding that they had not entered Rafah yet.
The seven-month battle between Israel and Hamas has reached a turning point with the president's declaration that he was willing to tie American armaments to Israel's behavior. Furthermore, his admission that American bombs had been used to murder people in Gaza was a clear admission of America's involvement in the conflict.
In the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the president is under intense pressure to restrict weapons supplies, even from members of his own party.
The president has up to now rejected their requests and firmly backed Israel's pursuit of Hamas. However, the president's calculations seem to have changed in light of the impending assault of Rafah, the southern Gazan metropolis where over a million Palestinian residents have sought refuge.
"We will not abandon Israel's security." We are removing Israel's capacity to carry out warfare in those regions," said Biden.
Biden said that in the event of a significant ground assault of Rafah, the US will stop sending defensive weaponry to Israel, including for its Iron Dome air defense system.
"We will persist in guaranteeing Israel's security concerning Iron Dome and their capacity to counter recent attacks emanating from the Middle East," he said. However, that is plain incorrect. We never will—we will not provide the guns and artillery munitions."
As a result of Israel's potential activities in Rafah without providing for the residents there, the US has already halted a supply of "high-payload munitions," according to the Pentagon, even though it said that a final decision had not yet been taken on that cargo. According to the government, it is investigating the possible transfer or sale of further weapons.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Israeli officials privately conveyed to US officials their "deep frustration" about the halt in shipments and the US media briefings on the decision.
