The Biden administration is considering several ways to prevent Israel from using American weapons if the populated area of Rafah is attacked, David Ignatius reported last night in the Washington Post.
According to the report, the White House is debating but has not yet decided whether to implement this condition. The comments come in lieu of concerns in the US about the crisis in Gaza and the lack of agreement regarding the attack on the southern city.
Government officials said that there is no clear plan on how to protect more than a million Palestinians who have resettled in the area along the Egyptian border as a result of fighting in northern Gaza.
The US ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, claimed that Israel needs to understand that the level of frustration of the Biden administration with the "incorrect handling of the humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached its limit." According to him: "If Israel launches an attack in Rafah without properly protecting the civilian population, it could precipitate an unprecedented crisis in US relations with Israel, even on the issue of arms supply."
As was published this week, Vice President Kamala Harris sharply criticized Israeli minister Benny Gantz and the IDF's plan to attack Rafah during their meetings in Washington, D.C. Gantz, for his part, claimed that: "Ending the war without excommunicating Rafah is like sending firefighters to put out 80% of the fire."