Israel has refused to bow down to the US’s request not to invade Rafah city amid the prolonged war in Gaza. On Thursday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in a punchy clip on the X platform said, “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone” and “fight tooth and nail”.
Netanyahu’s tweet came after US President Joe Biden said it will halt some weapons supplies to Israel if it attacks Rafah.
However, Netanyahu in an interview with Phil McGraw, the American talk show host known as Dr. Phil said, “I’ve known Joe Biden for many years, 40 years and more…We often had agreements, but we’ve had our disagreements and we’ve been able to overcome them. I hope we can overcome them now”.
What is Israel saying on Rafah
Since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens, the latter’s military has pledged to eradicate the US-designated terrorist group from the Gaza region. Therefore, Netanyahu on Friday reiterated that Israel would go to Rafah to finish off the remaining battalions of Hamas.
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“We have to achieve victory,” he said. “That means we have to destroy all these battalions, which we will. We face very strong opposition to that, but we’re going to overcome it,” the Israeli prime minister said.
Hamas will “murder again and again” if allowed to survive in Rafah, Netanyahu added.
In the October 7, 2023 attack more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 were abducted. Following Hamas’ attack, Israeli forces retaliator killing more than 30,000 civilians as per Palestine health ministry.
US Pauses Arms Shipment to Israel on Rafah Invasion Concerns
What the US saying on Israel vs Hamas
During the initial months of the war, the US backed its ally Israel by providing weapons. However, after Israel Defense Forces attacked some US and UN aid workers near the Gaza border, Washington requested Israel to halt the violence approach.
This week US President Biden said he would halt additional shipments of offensive weapons to Israel if it launches a ground invasion of Rafah, decrying the potential loss of civilian life as “just wrong.”
Israeli army takes ‘operational control’ of Palestinian side of Rafah border
White House officials insisted the US stands by its ally while urging Netanyahu to refrain from an assault that could worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In the April 4 call, soon after seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed in an Israeli air strike, Biden gave Netanyahu an ultimatum: protect citizens and aid workers, or else US policy would change.
Last week, the US withheld a shipment of thousands of heavy bombs, out of concern over Israel’s slow-rolling assault in Rafah
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Published: 10 May 2024, 09:01 AM IST