US says latest Israeli strikes in Rafah do not cross Biden’s red lines

Joe Biden’s government has confirmed that the recent Israeli operation and deadly strikes in the city of Rafah, far south of Gaza, do not constitute a major ground operation that crosses any red lines of the United States – which has publicly opposed the invasion of the Palestinian territory bordering Egypt – and involves a shift in its staunch support for Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We have said that we don’t want to see any major ground operations in Rafah that would make it really difficult for the Israelis to pursue Hamas without suffering major losses and potentially a large number of deaths. We haven’t seen that yet,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday after Israeli tanks were spotted near the al-Awda mosque, a historic site in central Rafah. Asked about the presence of these vehicles, he assured: “We have not seen them enter large units, large amounts of troops, columns and formations in some type of coordinated maneuver against multiple objectives on the ground.”

According to CNN, this is the clearest sign yet that Biden has not yet reached the point of considering suspending arms shipments or other aid to Israel, despite saying in an interview with the same network earlier this month that he would not allow some US weapons to be used in a major offensive in Rafah.

as well as, new York Times has revealed that the bombs used in the Israeli airstrike, which caused a massive fire in a tent area for displaced people in Rafah this Sunday and killed at least 45 people, were manufactured in the United States. “The remains of the ammunition recorded at the site of the attack the next day were the remains of a GBU-39, a bomb designed and manufactured in the United States, Times. “US representatives are pressing Israel to use more bombs, which they say could reduce civilian casualties,” the US newspaper reported.

The Pentagon continued its analysis this Tuesday that the scope of the Israeli Defense Forces’ operation in Rafah is limited and, although it described the attack on the displaced persons’ camp as “horrific” and has outraged the world, it asked to wait for the Israeli research results. “We still think it is a limited operation,” Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said in a press conference. In that intervention, she highlighted that “of course” she has seen the images of the attack on the displaced persons’ camp in Tal al Sultan. “It is horrific. It is heartbreaking and it needs to stop. We must also remember that we support Israel in the fight against Hamas. It is a terrorist organization that enters tunnels and takes innocent civilians hostage and uses people as human shields. So we are going to support Israel in its efforts to defeat Hamas, ”she said.

Singh reiterated that he would continue to urge the Israeli executive to take all precautions to protect the population and stressed that he was awaiting the findings of the investigation launched by Israel, whose Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has described it as a “tragic accident”.

Rafah remains the focus of Israeli offensive despite an International Court of Justice order issued last Friday to “immediately” halt operations in the area. According to the United Nations, one million people have already fled the Rafah area in the past three weeks after Israel ordered residents to leave the city’s eastern neighbourhoods.

Nikki Haley writes “Exterminate them” on an Israeli projectile.

Meanwhile, former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, now an ally of Donald Trump, has become the latest in a series of US politicians to visit Israel and show their support, although in her case she has gone further than her other colleagues.

During a visit to an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) post on the country’s northern border with Lebanon, Nikki Haley wrote a message with a marker on one of the projectiles ready to be fired into Lebanon.

“Finish them! America loves Israel. Forever, Nikki Haley,” he wrote in his own handwriting, referring to the M795 rocket, an explosive projectile with fragmentation and shock wave effects that is also common in the US armed forces, as reported by multiple media outlets, which are also Israeli.

Although Hailey posted several photos from her trip on her ex’s account, she refrained from including the image in which she is seen writing about the projectile.

During her visit with Israeli lawmaker and former ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, Haley made brief statements to the same effect: The United States – she said – “supports Israel. Israel fights today against the enemies of the United States. Don’t stop until you win,” she said, addressing Danon.

Haley was the Republican candidate until several weeks ago, but when she withdrew from the race, Donald Trump remained the only candidate (no official announcement has been made yet). Last week, and after several months of distance, Haley announced that she would vote for Trump, despite having shown ‘restraint’ and having expressed scathing criticism against him in the past.