The White House: There is no change in policy towards Israel after the Rafah attack

2024-05-29 08:01:21, Kosova & Bota CNA

The White House: There is no change in policy towards Israel after the Rafah

The White House condemned the loss of dozens of civilian lives as a result of an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, but said it plans no policy change as a result of Israel's actions.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters on May 28 that Israel has not crossed President Joe Biden's "red line" of banning assault weapons in the future because, according to the US, it will not to launch a full-scale ground invasion of southern Gaza City.

Biden has stated earlier in the month that he would limit arms supplies to Israel, if the army of this country would enter the residential centers of Rafah.

"Everything we can see tells us that they are not moving towards a major ground operation in the residential areas in the center of Rafah," Kirby said.

From Sunday's Israeli attack, most of those killed were sheltering in tents.

Biden and his top advisers have repeatedly warned the Israelis against conducting large-scale operations in Rafah without a plan to provide security for innocent civilians. However, the Biden administration made it clear that it will not limit — at least not immediately — support for Israel because of the attack.

Other world leaders have strongly condemned the Rafah attack.

The incident in the southern Gaza city came just two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to end its military offensive in Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people have taken refuge for due to fighting in other parts of the enclave. Tens of thousands of people remain in Rafah, while many others have left.

Kirby said Biden "does not make decisions based on popularity or public opinion polls conducted here [US] or around the world," but acknowledged that it is not in the interest of the US or "our partner, Israel, that he become even more isolated" on the world stage.

He condemned the loss of civilian life, which he described as "horrific." Kirby added that the US is monitoring the results of the Israeli investigation into the attack.

"We understand that this attack killed two senior leaders of Hamas [the Palestinian terrorist group designated by the US and the European Union] who were directly responsible for the attacks," Kirby said, adding that Washington has often said that Israel must take every possible measure to protect the lives of the innocent.

The war in Gaza began on October 7, after Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping nearly 250 others. As a result of the Israeli offensive, more than 38,000 people have been killed in Gaza so far./ REL