The Biden administration declared on Tuesday that it was closely monitoring the investigation into a fatal Israeli attack. However, the recent killings in Rafah did not constitute a significant ground operation that violates any US red lines.
When asked if the past weekend’s events qualified as the “death and destruction” that could lead to withholding more aid to Israel, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responded. He told reporters at the White House, “The Israelis have said this is a tragic mistake.”
The United States lacks “a measuring stick here or a quota,” according to Kirby.
“We’ve also said we don’t want to see a major ground operation in Rafah that would really make it hard for the Israelis to go after Hamas without causing extensive damage and potentially a large number of deaths. We have not seen that yet,” he stated, adding that most Israel’s actions took place along a corridor outside of Rafah.
When asked if the recent ground operations in Rafah would lead to the United States withholding further military supplies, Kirby responded, “I believe that’s what I’ve been saying here.” He confirmed that the operations would not affect the U.S. decision on military aid.
President Joe Biden’s vow to withhold arms from Israel if it launched a significant invasion of Rafah endangering displaced people has been put to the test by the recent killings there. Consequently, the situation raises questions about the US response and future military aid.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris stated, “The word tragic doesn’t even begin to describe” the Israeli bombing that killed 45 Palestinians on Sunday in the Gaza city of Rafah. She made this remark while speaking at a ceremonial event in Washington. The strike started a fire in a tent camp.
Harris made the comment in response to a query from a reporter after at least 21 people were murdered on Tuesday by what Gaza health officials described as Israeli tank shelling of a tent camp in an evacuation area west of Rafah.
Israel’s military denied firing the tent camp on Tuesday, but claimed that “something unfortunately went tragically wrong” during the airstrike on Sunday. Israel declared that it had not planned to kill civilians during the operation on Sunday, although it had targeted two senior Hamas operatives.
Hamas issued a statement celebrating the martyrdom of two fighters in the strike on Sunday, Kirby said. This indicates that Israel was trying to go after Hamas in a “targeted, precise way.”
“The Israelis have said they used 37-pound bombs, precision-guided munitions,” Kirby stated. “If it is in fact what they used, it is certainly indicative of an effort to be discreet and targeted and precise. Now, obviously this had tragic results, and obviously that needs to be investigated.”
Kirby told reporters Tuesday that Israel’s strikes pose a real danger of further isolating the country from the international community. When asked if this could put Biden in a difficult position, he emphasized the broader diplomatic risks. “So this is of concern, clearly, because it’s not in Israel’s best interest,” added Kirby. “And it’s not in our best interest for Israel to become increasingly isolated on the world stage.”
Human rights and Arab American organizations had earlier on Tuesday slammed the U.S. administration’s response.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said, “Sadly, this is now as much an American genocide as it is an Israeli genocide, because of President Biden’s insistence on sending more bombs to enable Netanyahu’s war crimes in Rafah.”
Officials from the United States and Israel have objected to the term “genocide” being used to characterize what is happening in Gaza.
The State Department announced on Tuesday that Washington conveyed to Israel its profound concern following the allegations of Sunday’s Rafah incident. In response, Israel has pledged to carry out an inquiry.
The State Department’s Matthew Miller informed reporters that Israel’s military operations in Rafah have not been as extensive as those in central or northern Gaza. However, Washington will be closely monitoring Israel’s investigation.
World leaders have voiced shock and sorrow at the fire in Rafah, which has been designated as a “humanitarian zone” where people who had been displaced by fighting elsewhere had sought refuge.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 36,000 Palestinians have died because of Israel’s offensive. Following attacks by terrorists headed by Hamas on southern Israeli villages on October 7, Israel began an air and ground war, claiming the lives of almost 1,200 people and taking over 250 captives, according to Israeli estimates.
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