While talks in Cairo on a plan for a truce for the enclave were scheduled to resume on Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden officially pledged for the first time to withhold arms from Israel in the event that Israeli soldiers launched a significant invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Biden, whose administration has frequently questioned Israel about its strategy for defending people in Rafah, stated, “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah,… I’m not supplying the weapons.”
Biden said that during the seven-month-long campaign to destroy Hamas, people in Gaza have been murdered by American bombs that Israel has been receiving.
The remarks, which are among Biden’s most scathing to date, put more pressure on Israel to hold off on launching a full-scale attack on Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have taken sanctuary after escaping fighting further north in Gaza.
Regarding Biden’s words, Israel did not immediately respond, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the Rafah operation will proceed. Israel asserts that in order to eliminate thousands of alleged Hamas fighters, it must strike Rafah.
Following its incursion into southern Gaza on Tuesday through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, Israel continued its tank and aircraft attacks, obstructing a crucial humanitarian corridor.
Democrats on campus have been putting pressure on Biden to stop Israel from occupying Rafah, and the demonstrations are getting stronger. The president’s support for Israel has turned into a political problem as he seeks reelection.
The largest supplier of weaponry to Israel by far is the United States, which increased its supply following the October 7 bombings by Hamas, which set off Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
According to Biden, the United States will keep providing Israel with weaponry for defense, including as the Iron Dome anti-missile system.
The risk to people in Gaza prompted Washington to halt the delivery of 1,800 2,000-pound (907-kg) and 1,700 500-pound bombs to Israel, as confirmed by U.S. officials on Wednesday.
According to four sources, the shipments—which were postponed for a minimum of two weeks—contain Small Diameter Bombs (SDB-1) and Joint Direct Attack Munitions manufactured by Boeing, which are capable of transforming ordinary bombs into precision-guided ones.
Rather than being a part of the most recent $95 billion supplemental aid package that the U.S. Congress enacted in April, they were part of an earlier permitted shipment to Israel.
Gilad Erdan, the ambassador of Israel to the United Nations, described the decision as “extremely disappointing,” although he expressed doubt that the United States would cease arming Israel.
Conversations in Cairo
Late on Wednesday, the militant Palestinian party Hamas declared that it will not give Israel any further ground in the cease-fire negotiations.
Delegations from Qatar, Egypt, the United States, Israel, and Hamas have been meeting in Cairo since Tuesday.
Early on Thursday, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera TV stated, without providing specifics, that there were signs of an agreement being made and that areas of contention were being handled. It cited a source acquainted with the situation.
Yet in a statement released late on Wednesday, Izzat El-Reshiq, a representative of Hamas’ political office in Qatar, stated that the organization would not accept a truce plan that it had approved on Monday.
That would also mean the release of Palestinian women and children held in Israel as well as certain Israeli prisoners in Gaza.
“Israel isn’t serious about reaching an agreement and it is using the negotiation as a cover to invade Rafah and occupy the crossing,” Reshiq stated.
Israel said on Monday that the parameters of the three-phase truce that Hamas had agreed were too soft and were thus unacceptable. It took some time to react to the announcement from Hamas.
The United States announced on Tuesday that Hamas has made changes to their ceasefire plan, which may help break a deadlock in talks. Washington maintained that there was not much distance between the two sides, even hours before Hamas’ most recent declaration.
“We think an agreement can be reached in this fashion… The two parties should try their best to reach a settlement since they are close enough, according to U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who spoke to reporters.
According to the most recent Israeli statistics, the conflict started on October 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, murdering over 1,200 people and kidnapping 252, of whom 128 are still being held captive in Gaza and 36 have been pronounced dead.
LOOMS, “HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE”
Islamic Jihad’s fighters targeted Israeli soldiers and military vehicles with heavy artillery near the city’s long-abandoned airport, while Hamas reported that its members were engaged in combat with Israeli forces in Rafah’s east on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Israeli tank rounds struck in the center of Rafah, injuring at least 25, according to medical professionals. Locals said that an Israeli airstrike in western Rafah resulted in four fatalities and sixteen injuries.
According to the Israeli military, its forces had found Hamas infrastructure in many locations in eastern Rafah and were carrying out airstrikes and targeted operations throughout the Gaza Strip.
Humanitarian organizations, Gazanos, and the United Nations warn that more Israeli incursions into Rafah will be disastrous for the community’s welfare.
According to a U.N. official, the military action has prevented fuel or humanitarian supplies from reaching the Gaza Strip, making the situation “disastrous for the humanitarian response” in the region where over half of the population is facing severe starvation.
Palestinians are suffering from a lack of food, water, and medication as they are forced into tented camps and improvised homes.
