For the first time publicly, President Biden promised not to send more offensive weapons to Israel if it expands its operation in the Gazan city of Rafah.
“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,” Biden said Wednesday night in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett.
Biden added that the U.S. would continue to provide defensive support for Israel, such as for the Iron Dome defense against terrorist groups’ rocketfire, but he warned that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the Gazan city of Rafah, “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells … that have been used.”
About 1.3 million civilians — many who are refugees from other decimated cities in Gaza — are crammed together in Rafah. Israel has already been launching airstrikes on Rafah and took over a key border crossing, but so far Biden administration officials have said that Israel’s actions haven’t crossed the “red line.”
