Rafah
Netanyahu after harsh US reaction: Israel will fight alone if necessary
Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
© Ohad Zwigenberg / DPA
The USA has already suspended an arms shipment and Biden is now threatening Israel with further consequences in the event of a major operation in the south of the Gaza Strip. Israel reacts calmly.
Israel’s government has shown itself unimpressed by a US threat to restrict arms deliveries if it attacks Rafah in the Gaza Strip. “As I have said before, we will fight tooth and nail if we have to,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message on Thursday. “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone.”
Israel’s ammunition depots are full
War in the Middle East
People on the run, Israel’s flag on the tank: the invasion of Rafah in pictures
US President Joe Biden had declared that he would further restrict arms sales to Israel if Israel moved against Rafah. For the first time since the Gaza war broke out in October, he placed limits on military support for the most important ally in the Middle East. He told CNN that Israel would not receive support if it attacked densely populated areas. When asked about 2,000-pound bombs (around 900 kilograms) that Israel received, Biden said they had led to the deaths of civilians. The US government had repeatedly warned that it would not support a Rafah offensive without a credible plan to protect civilians.
Residents report fighting in Rafah
Biden is also coming under pressure in the presidential election campaign given the increasing number of victims among the Palestinian population. The left wing of his Democrats in particular is calling for the offensive on Rafah to be stopped. In general, before the vote in November, he is confronted with accusations that he is too one-sidedly on Israel’s side in the war. The dispute has spilled over into domestic politics in the USA. Protest events against Israel took place at several US universities. Some of these were broken up by the police.
Rafah is considered the last bastion of the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip. More than a million people have sought protection from the war there. According to Palestinian residents, the army attacked parts of the city with tanks and from the air on Thursday. Islamist fighters said they had fired on the tanks. The Israeli military said it had targeted Hamas facilities. The Israeli army advanced on Rafah on Tuesday after negotiations for a ceasefire stalled again. The UN has repeatedly warned of a humanitarian catastrophe.
According to the health authority in the Gaza Strip, over 34,900 people have been killed in Israeli attacks so far. The Hamas-run authority said more than 78,500 were injured. According to Israeli figures, around 1,200 people were killed and 252 kidnapped in the Islamists’ surprise attack on Israel at the beginning of October. Some of the hostages have been released or are dead. According to Israeli information, 128 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip. It is unclear how many of them are still alive.