President Joe Biden said that the U.S. would stop supplying weapons to Israel if the country proceeds with its siege in Rafah , where the majority of Gaza ‘s civilian population remains sheltered.
Biden addressed the issue in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday evening, saying he supported Israel’s security but drew the line at arming the country for an invasion in Rafah. “It’s just wrong,” Biden said. “We’re not gonna supply the weapons and the artillery shells used.
” The Biden administration confirmed earlier on Wednesday it had paused a shipment of 2,000-pound U.S. bombs that had been authorized for Israel because of ongoing concerns that the bombs would be used in Rafah.
The move is the first time Biden has blocked U.S. arms from Israel, as he has explicitly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against an offensive into Rafah on multiple occasions, given the high likelihood of excess civilian casualties.
“They’re not going to get our support if, in fact, they go into these population centers,” Biden said later in Wednesday’s interview. Trending Steve Albini, Noise Rock Pioneer and 'In Utero' Engineer, Dead at 61 The Results Are In: Kendrick Lamar Won the Great Rap War Why Grown-Ass Women Love the Idea of 'The Idea of You' Hear the Journey Tune Steve Perry Rerecorded With Steve Lukather's Son Rafah, a city near the southern border of Gaza, currently houses over one million Palestinians, many of whom have been displaced fr.
