10/5/2024–|Last Updated: 10/5/202405:25 AM (Makkah Time)
Today, Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized US President Joe Biden because his administration stopped sending weapons to Israel because of military operations in Rafah, while Washington said it had suggested “alternatives” to occupying the city of Tel Aviv. .
Earlier this morning, CNN reported that Netanyahu had said Biden made a mistake by stopping an arms shipment to Israel.
In a separate interview with the “Dr. Phil Primetime” web show, the Israeli prime minister expressed hope that he and the US president could overcome their differences over the war in the Gaza Strip.
During the interview, Netanyahu acknowledged the loss of hundreds of soldiers in the besieged area, said his forces had destroyed 20 of the 24 battalions of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and insisted that the movement must be defeated in Rafah. It is.
“We will fight with our claws if we have to,” Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office on Thursday in response to Biden’s warning that Washington would cut off arms supplies to Israel if Israel invaded Rafah.
For his part, Michael Herzog, Israel’s ambassador to Washington – said Thursday evening – that the direction taken by the Biden administration is not beneficial to negotiations between Israel and the United States and sends the wrong message to the region.
For the first time.. #Biden He imposes conditions on the supply of arms to Israel, saying: Our bombs were used to kill civilians #Gaza#Gaza_war pic.twitter.com/Y1rEmHqiy8
– Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) May 9, 2024
Stop the weapons
Earlier, the US president had warned that his country would stop supplying Israel with weapons if it launched a major military operation in Rafah, and Biden’s words included, for the first time, a US acknowledgment that bombs supplied to Israel had been used to kill Palestinians. Public.
He said he was working with Arab countries to help rebuild Gaza and reach a two-state solution.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said yesterday that Israel has enough ammunition to carry out the operation in Rafah.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent said the Defense Mini-Ministerial Council in Israel met on Thursday evening to discuss a possible exchange deal and the latest developments regarding the Rafah process.
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said the war council and a group of defense ministers met Thursday evening as assessments indicated Israel was in trouble. “Does it continue its military operation in Rafah or combine it with the US president’s threat and wait for weeks after most of the residents are displaced?”
Al Jazeera’s correspondent tracks reactions to the US decision to freeze an arms shipment to Israel#message #Gaza_war pic.twitter.com/j5W2k4BsLw
— Al Jazeera Palestine (@AJA_Palestine) May 9, 2024
American Alternatives
Meanwhile, White House strategic communications coordinator John Kirby said yesterday evening that the US administration has proposed Israeli “alternatives” to defeat Hamas in Rafah.
He explained that President Biden did not want Israel to use certain weapons in certain areas.
The US official said Israel’s operation in Rafah was limited and, he said, aimed at preventing Hamas from smuggling weapons and money into Gaza.
He continued that Washington’s position on Israel on Rafah would depend on the decisions made by Tel Aviv, stressing that he agreed with the Israelis on the need to inflict a permanent defeat on Hamas.
President Joe Biden ordered his team to continue working with Israel to achieve a “permanent defeat of Hamas,” Reuters reported, citing the White House.
Arms export
For his part, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder confirmed that the United States has not yet decided on the fate of the weapons shipment, whose delivery to Israel has been suspended.
He said the Pentagon is now reviewing US military exports, particularly those that could cause widespread damage in populated areas.
He said the US military has no estimate of the number of civilians killed by US weapons used by Israel in Gaza, adding that his country expects Israel to use US weapons in accordance with international laws.
Hamas power
Among US internal reactions, Reuters quoted Democratic Senator Chris Murphy as saying that the operation in Rafah is unlikely to affect Hamas’ strength in the long term.
Murphy added that it was not in America’s strategic or moral interest to help Israel launch a military campaign in Rafah.
Republican lawmakers have launched a scathing attack on President Joe Biden over his decision to suspend some arms shipments to Israel.
As for former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Biden accused him of abandoning Israel, insisting he had never seen anything like it before.
