Following the devastating attack on Gaza’s Rafah over the weekend, US President Joe Biden has maintained his position on Israel but is not “turning a blind eye” to the suffering of Palestinian civilians, the White House stated on Tuesday, as reported by AFP.
Gaza’s health authorities confirmed that 45 Palestinians were killed when a fire tore through a camp for displaced persons following Israel’s raid on Sunday. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby indicated that Washington does not view Israel’s actions in Rafah as a large-scale operation that would breach Biden’s “red lines.” Despite the tragic incident, Biden’s stance remains unchanged.
Responding to inquiries about potential changes in policy due to the high number of civilian casualties, Kirby asserted, “This is not something that we’ve turned a blind eye to.” He emphasized that Biden continues to monitor the situation closely. Previously, Biden had stated he would not support a significant Israeli military offensive in Rafah. Earlier in the month, he halted a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel out of concern that they might be used in southern Gaza.
On Tuesday, Israeli tanks were seen positioned in the heart of Rafah, following weeks of intense clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants. Despite this, Kirby reiterated that there was no indication of a large-scale coordinated military maneuver by Israel against Rafah.
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“We have not seen them smash into Rafah,” 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 maneuver against multiple targets on the ground.”
The Pentagon had described Israel’s attack on Rafah as “limited in scope.” The administration is awaiting the completion of the Israeli military’s investigation into the incident before making further comments, according to Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.
“We certainly take seriously what happened over the weekend. We’ve all seen the images. They’re horrific,” Singh added.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller previously reported that Israel’s initial inquiry suggested the attack was carried out using “the smallest bomb in their arsenal.” Israel has called the deaths a “tragic accident” and claimed that its army could not have caused the deadly fire with its weapons alone. It also stated that the strike targeted and killed two senior Hamas militants.
