The Biden administration has said recent Israeli operations and attacks in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah do not constitute a major ground operation that crosses any US red lines, adding that it is also closely monitoring an investigation into Sunday’s deadly strike on a tent camp.
Speaking after Israeli tanks were seen near al-Awda mosque, a landmark in central Rafah, the national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, told reporters the US was not turning a “blind eye” to the plight of Palestinian civilians.
“The Israelis have said this is a tragic mistake,” Kirby said, referring to the airstrike and fire in an area crowded with refugee tents, which Gaza health authorities said killed at least 45 people on Sunday.
Asked if there was anything the White House had seen from Sunday – through to the ongoing ground operations this week – that would prompt a US withdrawal of more military assistance, Kirby said: “I believe that’s what I’ve been saying here.”
“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 said, stating that Israel’s operations on Tuesday were mostly in a corridor on the outskirts of the city.
Recent deaths in Rafah have tested Joe Biden’s promise to withhold weapons from Israel if the US ally made a major invasion that put displaced persons there at risk.
Asked about the presence of Israeli tanks in Rafah on Tuesday, Kirby said: “We have not seen them go in with large units, large numbers of troops, in columns and formations in some sort of coordinated manoeuvre against multiple targets on the ground.”
The Pentagon had earlier said it considered Israel’s assault on Rafah as “limited in scope”.
The Pentagon official Sabrina Singh also said the administration was waiting for the Israeli military to conclude its investigation into Sunday’s strike before commenting further.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the bombs used on Sunday were made in the US, citing visual evidence it had reviewed of munition debris filmed at the strike location. It said the debris came from a GBU-39, a bomb designed and manufactured in the US. American officials have been pushing Israel to use more of this type of bomb, which they say can reduce civilian casualties, according to the newspaper.
Israel has called the loss of life “a tragic accident” and its army said on Tuesday its munitions alone could not have caused the deadly blaze, adding that it had targeted and killed two senior Hamas militants in the strike. Later, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said its airstrike had not caused the fire.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces were accused of again attacking the Tel al-Sultan area, the site of Sunday’s attack. At least 21 people were killed in the latest strike, more than half of them women, authorities in Gaza said. Israel’s military denied carrying out the strike.
Asked whether Israel’s actions in Rafah could put Biden in a difficult position, Kirby told reporters that instead there was a real danger that Israel could become further isolated from the international community with the manner in which it was conducting operations.
“So this is of concern, clearly, because it’s not in Israel’s best interest,” Kirby said. “And it’s not in our best interest for Israel to become increasingly isolated on the world stage.”
With Agence France-Presse and Reuters
