Netanyahu: ‘We will fight with our fingernails’
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, signalled he would go hard into Rafah – MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP
Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will ‘fight with our fingernails’ if necessary to win its war with Hamas after the US paused some weapons supplies to its long-time ally.
Joe Biden refused on Wednesday to support Israel with heavy payload bombs if it launches a ground war in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, warning of the potential for catastrophic loss of civilian life.
On Thursday Israeli tanks and warplanes reportedly bombarded areas of Rafah as ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas broke down.
Mr Netanyahu signalled he would go in hard into Rafah despite US opposition to the move, saying “if we must stand alone, if we must fight with only our fingernails, we shall.”
The Israeli prime minister has argued that Israel must go into Rafah to root out Hamas’ leadership, rescue the hostages and destroy four remaining battalions of the terrorist group.
Israeli military vehicles gathered near the border fence with the Gaza Strip on Thursday ahead of an expected operation in Rafah – ABIR SULTAN/SHUTTERSTOCK
Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defence minister, stressed the country would do whatever was necessary to achieve its war aims in Gaza.
“I turn to Israel’s enemies as well as to our best friends and say – the State of Israel cannot be subdued,” he said.
Israeli officials reacted with fury to the suspension of US arms deliveries, saying the move would boost Hamas.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-Right security minister, said “Hamas loves Biden” in a post on social media.
Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, seen as a more moderate voice, said on Thursday “disputes and disagreements between friends and allies” should be resolved in a dialogue and not through “insulting statements”, in an apparent rebuke of Mr Ben-Gvir.
In an interview with CNN, Mr Biden on Wednesday said that 2000-pound US bombs had been used to kill civilians in the way “they go after population centres.”
“I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities,” Mr Biden said.
The announcement of a red line in terms of US aid marked the White House’s firmest rebuke of Israel in seven months of war, which have seen ties fray with Washington.
A shipment of 3,500 heavy bombs has been paused and further suspensions could follow, Mr Biden warned. But he said the US would continue to supply Israel with defensive munitions, including those needed for its Iron Dome missile system.
“We’re not walking away from Israel’s security. We’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas,” Mr Biden said.
Donald Trump led Republican criticism, calling Mr Biden’s decision “disgraceful” and saying Jewish Americans who plan to vote for the Democrat president in this year’s elections “should be ashamed of themselves”.
Steve Daines, a Republican senator, condemns Joe Biden’s decision to pause delivery of bombs to Israel flanked by Republican colleagues – JIM LO SCALZO/SHUTTERSTOCK
Tom Cotton, a Republican senator, urged his colleagues to consider impeaching Mr Biden over the suspension, arguing it violated Congress’s agreement to supply Israel with $17.6 billion of aid.
Mr Trump was impeached in 2019 over holding back $400 million of funding for Ukraine that had been authorised by Congress.
However, Mr Biden can sidestep any impeachment proceedings by providing the full amount to Israel, due by September 2025, for defensive purposes and without high-payload bombs.
John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, said the US believes that there are better ways to “go after what is left of Hamas” other than a major ground operation.
Meanwhile, dialogue over a potential ceasefire collapsed as delegates from Israel, Hamas and the US all left Cairo without a deal.
The Israeli delegation officially submitted its refusal of Hamas’s proposed terms and insisted the military operation in Rafah will go ahead as planned, according to the Walla news website.
Rafah refugees on the move. The IDF said 150,000 Palestinians have fled the east of the city since it issued evacuation orders – MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS
Gershon Baskin, a former Israeli negotiator who helped to bring about the 2011 release of Israeli Private Gilad Shalit, said the gaps in negotiating positions between Israel and Hamas “seem to be unbridgeable”.
“Israel won’t agree to a deal that includes the end of the war. Because Netanyahu refuses to have any political endgame to the war, ending the war leaves Hamas in control of Gaza,” he said.
“So Netanyahu’s choice is no agreement, no return of Israeli hostages, occupation of Gaza and endless war.”
In Gaza, at least 80,000 people have already fled the east of Rafah since the IDF’s evacuation orders earlier this week, according to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees. The IDF on Thursday put the number at 150,000.
With the Rafah crossing in Egypt closed for three days and the stream of aid dwindling, conditions in Gaza are worsening.
Palestinians in the city are struggling to find transportation to leave Rafah, and those who do have to pay an average of 1,000 shekel (£215) for a ride outside the evacuation zone, employees of aid group Mercy Corps said.
Israeli troops continued to operate on the eastern outskirts of Rafah on Thursday, killing some 50 gunmen and discovering 10 tunnel shafts likely to have been operated by Hamas, according to the IDF.
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