Biden to Stop Arms Supply if Israel Invades Rafah in Gaza

U.S. President Joe Biden for the first time publicly vowed to Halt weapons from Israel if its military forces invasion in Rafah in southern Gaza while negotiations in Cairo on a ceasefire agreement for the enclave were due to continue on Thursday.

In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Biden stated, “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah; I’m not supplying the weapons.” His administration has repeatedly requested Israel’s plan to safeguard people in Rafah.

Biden on Rafah Invasion

Biden admitted that during the seven-month-long offensive to destroy Hamas, US weapons supplied to Israel have killed people in Gaza. Biden in his interview said “Those bombs have resulted in the deaths of civilians in Gaza, it’s just wrong.”

In a television interview, the US president issued the warning, dismissing concerns from Republicans and Israelis alike. He also made it clear that his administration would not supply the weapons needed for an offensive on Rafah, which the US, the UN, and other aid organizations fear would result in a humanitarian catastrophe.

Biden comments, his most direct remark till the date, increase the pressure in Israel to refrain on launching a full-scale attack on Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have taken refugee after escaping war farther north in Gaza.

With no immediate response from Israel on Biden’s Comments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said to go ahead with the Rafah operation. Israel says it must invade Rafah to defeat thousands of Hamas fighters present there.

On Tuesday, Israel forces seized Rafah’s border crossing into Egypt, which has served as vital aid route into besieged Gaza.

Biden have been under pressure from his fellow democrats and growing campus protests in the US to stop Israel from Invading Rafah. The president’s support for Israel has turned into a political liability as he seeks re-election.

The United States is Israel’s largest arms supplier by far, and it increased supply following the Hamas attack on October 7^th, which set off Israel’s offensive in Gaza. According to Biden, the United States will keep providing Israel with arms for defence, including as the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

The risk to people in Gaza prompted Washington to halt the delivery of bombs to Israel, as verified by U.S. officials on Wednesday.

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, described the move as “extremely disappointing,” but he said he did not believe S would stop the arms supply.

UN Gaza Aid | Click Here

Ceasefire Agreement In Cairo

Delegations from Hamas, Israel, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been meeting since Tuesday, in Cairo. Al Qahera, Egypt’s state affiliated TV reported early on Thursday that areas of disagreement were being settled and there were signs that an agreement will be reached, without giving specifics.

However, Izzat El-Reshiq, a representative of Hamas’ political office in Qatar, in a statement released late on Wednesday, stated that the organization would not go beyond the ceasefire agreement that it had approved the previous day. It would also mean the release of Palestinian women and children held in Israel as well as certain Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

Humanitarian Disaster

Israel on Monday said that the conditions of the three-phase ceasefire agreement that Hamas had endorsed were too soft. It took some time to react to the announcement from Hamas. The United States announced on Tuesday that Hamas has made changes to its ceasefire plan, which may help break a deadlock in negotiataions.