A White Home spokesman warned on Thursday that Israel “smashing into Rafah” wouldn’t eradicate Hamas as he urged the nation to search out alternate options to the long-threatened assault on a metropolis the place greater than one million Palestinians are sheltering.
John F. Kirby, a White Home nationwide safety spokesman, mentioned President Biden shares Israel’s purpose of eradicating the terrorist group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing greater than 1,200 folks and taking greater than 200 hostages.
However Mr. Biden has grown more and more cautious of a significant assault within the densely populated metropolis of Rafah in southern Gaza. For the reason that battle started, greater than 34,000 folks have died in Gaza, in accordance with native well being authorities. America fears an operation in Rafah would result in widespread civilian casualties.
“An everlasting defeat of Hamas actually stays the Israeli purpose, and we share that purpose with them,” Mr. Kirby mentioned. “Smashing into Rafah, in his view, won’t advance that goal, won’t get to that sustainable and enduring defeat of Hamas.”
These issues led Mr. Biden final week to pause the supply of three,500 bombs to Israel — the primary time he had leveraged U.S. arms to attempt to affect how the battle is waged. On Wednesday, he mentioned he would additionally withhold artillery if Israel went forward with a significant operation in Rafah.
“In the event that they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons which were used traditionally to cope with Rafah, to cope with the cities, that cope with that drawback,” Mr. Biden mentioned in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett.
He additionally acknowledged that Israel had used American bombs to kill civilians in Gaza, reflecting his rising unease with the mounting loss of life toll because the battle grinds on.
Mr. Kirby additionally tried to assuage issues that america was breaking with its closest ally within the Center East.
“The argument that by some means we’re strolling away from Israel fly within the face of the details,” Mr. Kirby mentioned Thursday, citing Mr. Biden’s go to to Israel throughout the days of the Oct. 7 assault, offering cash and army experience for its battle, and placing American fighter pilots within the sky to shoot down Iranian drones.
He mentioned america believes that Israel has “put an unlimited quantity of strain on Hamas, and that there are higher methods to go after what’s left of Hamas in Rafah than a significant floor operation.”
Mr. Kirby mentioned america was nonetheless working with Israel on methods it may well assist it defeat Hamas, equivalent to making certain that the border between Gaza and Egypt can’t be used for smuggling weapons and concentrating on Hamas’s leaders.
He additionally famous that whereas america has quickly paused the switch of bombs, Israel was “nonetheless getting the huge, overwhelming majority of all the things that they should defend themselves,” and {that a} latest funding bundle handed by Congress will proceed to ship billions to Israel.
Mr. Biden’s resolution to pause sure weapons shipments to Israel underscored brewing frustrations between Mr. Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu has mentioned that Israel would transfer ahead with its invasion in Rafah even with out world assist. Within the final week, Israeli forces have carried out a variety of focused strikes in Rafah, and confirmed different indicators of a significant floor invasion, together with the evacuation of greater than 100,000 folks.
On Thursday, the Israeli chief mentioned: “If we have to stand alone, we are going to stand alone. I’ve mentioned that, if mandatory, we are going to combat with our fingernails. However we have now rather more than fingernails and with that very same energy of spirit, with God’s assist, collectively we are going to win.”
