WASHINGTON,
US
US President Joe Biden for the first time publicly vowed to withhold weapons from Israel if its forces make a major invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza while negotiations in Cairo on a ceasefire plan for the enclave were due to continue on Thursday.
“I made it clear that if they
go into Rafah …, I’m not supplying the weapons,” Biden, whose administration
has repeatedly asked Israel for its plan to protect civilians in Rafah, said on
Wednesday in an interview with CNN.
Biden acknowledged that US
bombs provided to Israel have killed Gaza civilians in the seven-month-old
offensive aimed at annihilating Hamas.
Biden’s comments, his starkest
to date, increase the pressure on Israel to refrain from a full-scale assault
on Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge after
fleeing combat farther north in Gaza.
There was no immediate comment
from Israel on Biden’s remarks, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
has said the Rafah operation would go ahead. Israel says it must hit Rafah to
defeat thousands of Hamas fighters it says are there.
Israel, meanwhile, continued
tank and aerial strikes on southern Gaza after moving in via the Rafah border
crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, cutting off a vital aid route.
Biden has been under pressure
from his fellow Democrats and growing campus protests to deter Israel from
invading Rafah. His support of Israel has become a political liability as the
president runs for re-election.
The United States is by far
the biggest supplier of weapons to Israel, and it accelerated
deliveries after the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 that triggered Israel’s offensive
in Gaza. Biden said US weapons for Israel’s defense, such as for its Iron Dome
anti-missile system, would continue.
US officials confirmed on
Wednesday that Washington paused delivery of a shipment of bombs to Israel
because of the risk to civilians in Gaza.
Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad
Erdan, called that decision “very disappointing” but said he did not believe
the US would stop supplying arms to Israel.
Palestinian militant group
Hamas said late on Wednesday it would not make more concessions to Israel in
the truce talks.
In Cairo, delegations from
Hamas, Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar have been meeting since Tuesday.
Citing a source familiar with
the matter, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera TV reported early on Thursday
that areas of disagreement were being resolved and there were signs that an
agreement will be reached, without giving details.
But Izzat El-Reshiq, a member of Hamas’ political office in Qatar, said in a statement late on Wednesday that the group would not go beyond a ceasefire proposal it accepted on Monday. It would also entail the release of some Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian women and children detained in Israel.
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