Biden: US Won't Supply Offensive Weapons for Rafah Assault

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Facts

  • US Pres. Joe Biden said Wednesday that if Israel invades Rafah, the US will not 'supply the weapons and artillery shells used.” Biden said the US is committed to Israel's security, but acknowledged for the first time that US weapons have killed civilians in Gaza.1
  • Biden's comments came after it was earlier reported that the US would not supply Israel with a shipment of 500- and 2k-pound bombs. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed the weapons delay, telling a Senate subcommittee that the US paused “one shipment of high payload munitions.'1
  • IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Thursday that the Israeli military has enough munitions for its planned operations in Rafah. Hagari called US support for Israel 'unprecedented' during the war and said that disagreements can be solved 'behind closed doors.'2
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously said if 'Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.' Right-wing members of his government strongly criticized Biden's comments Thursday, with one member of Netanyahu's Likud party saying Biden's actions jeopardize 'the entire free world.'3
  • Meanwhile, Israeli negotiators left Cairo on Thursday as the details of cease-fire talks remained hazy. Though the current situation is unclear, negotiations have seemingly once again stalled2
  • Also, Cypriot officials said a vessel carrying aid to a pier built by the US military off the coast of Gaza left the port of Larnaca on Thursday. Contradicting reports that aid would be subject to inspection by Israeli forces when it arrived, officials said there would be no further checks.4

Sources: 1Associated Press, 2The Times of Israel, 3CBS and 4Reuters.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by New York Times. The US is committed to preventing malicious actors from threatening Israel's legitimate concerns and making sure Israel can defend itself from terror. However, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has gotten out of hand, and the Biden administration won't support further offensive action in Rafah. Netanyahu must keep his promises to work with US allies to resolve this conflict.
  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. There's only one word to describe the Biden administration's current policy toward Israel: betrayal. At the climax of this war, Biden has unilaterally decided that the opinions of pro-Hamas fanatics are more important than Israel's legitimate security concerns. Other US allies should take heed.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. After over half a year of grinding brutality, the Biden administration is running damage control for its grotesque policies. The US has helped Israel destroy Gaza every step of the way, and now that the deed is done, the US wants to end offensive arms shipments. It's simply too little, too late.