US President Joe Biden threatened on Wednesday (05/08/2024) to stop supplying Israel with artillery shells, fighter jet bombs and other offensive weapons if that country invades the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
In an interview with the CNN television network, the president said that his administration is committed to the defense of Israel and will continue to send it weapons so that it can defend itself, but if it enters Rafah, it will stop providing certain types of offensive weapons.
“I made it clear that if they enter Rafah – they have not entered yet – I will not supply the weapons that have historically been used to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem,” he said.
Veto only for artillery and fighter bombs
Specifically, Biden explained that if Israel invades Rafah, it will stop sending offensive weapons, such as artillery and bombs for fighter jets, but that it will continue to supply its ally with defensive material for the Iron Dome anti-missile system, in line with its commitment to the defense of Israel.
Additionally, for the first time, Biden acknowledged that US weapons have been used by Israel to kill civilians in the Gaza Strip, where more than 34,000 people have been killed since the war began in October, following the movement’s terrorist attack. Hamas against Israel.
“Civilians have died in Gaza as a result of these bombs and the way in which population centers are attacked,” he said.
Pentagon confirmed retention of a shipment
Earlier, the Secretary of Defense, General Lloyd Austin, confirmed that the North American power withheld a planned shipment of weapons for Israel while it studies the operation in the Palestinian enclave of Rafah.
The decision was made by President Biden, whose government has serious doubts about the plausibility of an offensive in the area without seriously affecting the civilian population.
“We are currently reviewing some short-term security assistance shipments in the context of the events unfolding in Rafah,” Austin said during an appearance before a Senate subcommittee. The official wanted to make it clear that the United States Government “has not made a final determination on how to proceed with that shipment.”
“We would like no major fighting to occur in Rafah, but our main focus is making sure we protect civilians,” Austin said, reiterating the position the United States has defended for weeks. The detained shipment consists of “high-caliber ammunition,” he noted. Austin is the first member of the Biden administration to refer to what could be a turning point in the policy of delivering weapons to Israel by the United States.
226 and 907 kilo bombs
With his statement, the head of the Pentagon confirmed the information reported by several American media, such as CNN, which detailed that the detained shipment contains 3,500 bombs: 1,800 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds (907 kilos) and 1,700 bombs weighing 500 pounds (226 kilos). Despite everything, Austin insisted that support for Israel’s security remained unrestricted.
The concern of the Joe Biden government is mainly due to the final use of the 1,800 heaviest bombs and the impact they could have in dense urban environments, as has occurred in other areas of Gaza. “We have been very clear… from the beginning we have said that Israel should not launch a large-scale attack on Rafah without considering and protecting the civilian population in the combat zone,” Austin said.
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, meanwhile, said the decision was “very disappointing.”
gs/dzc (afp, efe, ap, reuters)
