US to stop shipping weapons to Israel if it launches invasion of Rafah – Prez Joe Biden

United States President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he would halt a portion of American weapon shipments to Israel if it went ahead with its plan to invade the southern city of Rafah in Gaza, reported CNN.

The United States, in such a scenario, would continue providing defensive weapons to Israel, but would stop supplying other arms, Biden said.

In an interview with the television news channel, the US president said: “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities – that deal with that problem.”

The statement came after the Israeli war cabinet voted to proceed with its operations in Rafah. Israel has threatened a full ground invasion of the city where over 1 million Palestinians have fled amid the war on Gaza.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that any ground operation in Rafah would mean more suffering and death for the 1.2 million displaced Palestinians”.

Despite this, the Israeli Defence Forces on Tuesday captured the vital Rafah crossing with Egypt, leading to its closure. The crossing is an entry point for food, medicine and other essential supplies for Palestinians.

Biden told CNN in the interview that while the United States would continue to supply defensive weapons to Israel, including for its Iron Dome air defence system, other shipments would stop if Rafah is invaded.

“We are not walking away from Israel’s security,” said Biden. “We are walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas.”

Earlier in the day, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that Washington had paused the shipment of “high-payload munitions” to Israel as it was proceeding with its plans in Rafah without accounting for civilian casualties, reported CNN.

“We are going to continue to do what is necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself, but that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah,” Lloyd told a US congressional subcommittee. – Foreign Media

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