There is now an open conflict between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, with the head of the White House warning publicly for the first time that if the IDF enters Rafah he will block the sending of American weapons to Israel, that it will no longer have the support of the United States. Also because Washington’s belief is that an entry into the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip, where one and a half million displaced people are crammed, “does not guarantee the defeat of Hamas”. Netanyahu, however, carries on and in the evening he convened the War Cabinet and the Security Cabinet to announce that Israel will move forward against Hamas “even alone”, while Biden’s comments were defined as “very disappointing” by the Jewish State. The US president’s turning point took place in an interview with CNN, during which he also admitted that “civilians have been killed in Gaza” as a consequence of the bombs supplied by the US and “other ways in which” the Israelis “attack the centers inhabited”. The bombs are the 2,000 pound bombs (approximately 1,000 kg) whose supply, as leaked in recent days, has already been suspended. “We will continue to ensure that Israel has ammunition for the Iron Dome and to defend itself against attacks such as those that have recently come from the Middle East. But it is simply wrong to ‘invade Rafah’ and we will not supply weapons and artillery shells. I have made it clear that if they enter Rafah, and they haven’t entered Rafah yet, I will not provide the weapons,” Biden said. His words caused a political cataclysm in Israel, with the radical right lashing out against the head of the White House. Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a hawk of Jewish Power, posted the shocking phrase “Hamas loves Biden” on X and was harshly rebuked for this by President Isaac Herzog. But beyond the verbal excesses, the positions within the government seem compact. Recalling that an arms embargo against Israel was already in force during the 1948 War of Independence, Netanyahu reiterated that “today we are much stronger. We are determined and we are united to defeat our enemy. If we have to remain alone, we will remain alone”. “I have already said that, if necessary, we will fight tooth and nail. But we have much more,” the Likud prime minister assured. A source close to him went further, claiming that the US threat to stop the weapons “practically buries the hostage deal”. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who also boasts excellent relations with Washington, is equally direct. “I say this to our enemies and our best friends: Israel – he warned – will achieve its objectives in the south (in Gaza) and in the north (with Hezbollah)”. The fact is that if the USA, the main supplier of weapons to the Jewish State, maintains the threat, the country’s defense apparatus will not be able to fail to take it into account, not only in the fight against Hamas but also against the Lebanese Hezbollah, to which Iran certainly does not intend to close supplies. For this reason, an Israeli source admitted that the new scenario could force the government to change the operational plans for the attack on Rafah. Adding that Israel could adopt “an arms economy”: conserve ammunition so that it does not run out or obtain it elsewhere. In all of this, the negotiations in Cairo for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages currently appear practically dead, even if no one says so openly. Hamas, Israel and CIA director William Burns have left the Egyptian capital and for now there seem to be no signs of a resumption of talks. Meanwhile, on the 216th day of the war, the IDF continued to pound not only Rafah but also Beit Hanun, a northern neighborhood of Gaza City, with a small-scale operation against Hamas positions. UNRWA said that so far around 80,000 Palestinians “have fled” from Rafah, the IDF responded that around 150,000 people have been “evacuated”.
ANSA Agency Trump: ‘Biden is taking us towards World War III’ – News – Ansa.it The former US president wrote it on his social network (ANSA) ANSA Agency Gaza authorities: around 15,000 children killed after 7 October – News – Ansa.it ‘At least 30 deaths from malnutrition’ (ANSA)Katz, Israel will continue until the destruction of Hamas
Israel “will continue to fight Hamas until its destruction.” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that “there is no more just war than this one”.
Israeli minister, ‘Hamas loves Biden’
“Hamas loves Biden.” Thus the minister of national security and radical right leader Ben Gvir attacked the US president after the statements on CNN against the operation in Rafah and the announcement of the arms ban on Israel. On X the minister posted the two names joined by a red heart.
Source Israel, US move on weapons could change plans in Rafah
The US decision to stop supplying weapons to Israel for the attack on Rafah could force the Jewish state to change its operational plans. The Kan broadcaster reported this, quoting an anonymous Israeli official. The source also added that Israel could be forced to adopt “an arms economy”, that is, to conserve ammunition so that it does not run out. Another source – again at the same broadcaster – claimed that Israel could at that point also be induced to obtain weapons elsewhere.
IDF, ‘operation launched in Zeitun against Hamas targets’
The IDF announced that it had launched “an operation in the Zeitun area, in the central part of the Strip, to continue dismantling terrorist infrastructures and eliminating terrorist operatives in the area”. The operation – he explained – is conducted by the 99th Division and is based on intelligence information. So far – he added – “25 targets have been hit, including military structures, tunnels, observation posts, sniper nests”. The ground troops – he concluded – are now “securing the Zeitun area”.
Palestinian sources quoted by the Times of Israel reported “intense air raids and tank advances” in the northern Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza City. Previously the IDF had made it known that it was carrying out attacks against Hamas targets in the central part of the Strip.
The US holds back its weapons on Israel, stalemate on the truce
However, the situation in Cairo is not resolved and indeed the talks seem to be taking a turn for the worse. According to a source from the Islamic faction, the confrontation “is over and Netanyahu is back to square one”, and even an Israeli official admitted that in the Egyptian capital “there was no turning point”. In this stalemate, the fighting in Rafah continued with intensity, after the IDF took control of the Palestinian part of the crossing with Egypt. The escalation in the area continues to be opposed by the United States, which has sent a strong signal to its ally: for the first time, it has confirmed that it has frozen a shipment of weapons aimed at the Jewish state and is “re-evaluating the sending of other short-term military shipments,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced.
While the door to negotiations for a ceasefire remains slightly ajar in Egypt, CIA director William Burns arrived in Jerusalem where he saw Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Mossad head David Barnea. The objective is to push as hard as possible to rekindle negotiations on the one hand and on the other to prevent the Rafah operation from continuing.
At the same time, the Israeli camp reiterates how unrealistic the prospect of a permanent stop to hostilities invoked by Hamas is. In the opinion of IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari, the most coherent forecast is that of a year of war: “We will not deceive public opinion. Even after we have taken care of Rafah – said Hagari – there will be terrorism. Hamas it will move north and regroup.” For this reason, he announced, the army has “presented a plan to the government for fighting in Gaza which should last a year”.
Meanwhile, in Rafah there were close clashes with Islamic militiamen in the eastern part of the city. The IDF announced that “the counter-terrorism operation to eliminate Hamas and dismantle its infrastructure in specific areas of eastern Rafah continues”. And the soldiers “have eliminated terrorists and discovered tunnel entrances”, while “targeted raids on the Gaza side of the crossing also continue”.
The operation in the southernmost city of the Strip – where one and a half million displaced people are crammed – led the US to suspend the delivery of a load of bombs last week. According to an anonymous source from the Biden administration, these are “1,800 910 kilo bombs and 1,700 225 kilo bombs”. Secretary Austin was even clearer. At the moment, he explained in a Senate hearing, “short-term security assistance is being reviewed in the context of the ongoing events in Rafah.”
Austin clarified that a final decision has not yet been reached, but an Israeli source said the American initiative had been met with “deep frustration”. The feeling, it was noted, is that Washington wants to promote the truce plan on which Hamas has agreed.
Hostilities between Hamas and Israel continued beyond Rafah. On the 215th day of the war, the IDF announced the killing in a raid of Ahmed Ali, the commander of the enemy’s naval force in Gaza City. The Palestinian faction instead announced that “a third mass grave was found inside the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City with 49 bodies recovered so far”, for a total of “seven mass graves inside the hospitals” of the Strip. Meanwhile, Israel has announced that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing where aid passes to Gaza, as requested by the US and the UN.
In contrast, according to UNRWA, no aid has yet entered Gaza through that crossing.
The clash on the northern border of Israel also continues with Hezbollah rockets and response raids. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke of the possibility of “a hot summer” on that front.
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