US President Joe Biden said he would stop the delivery of offensive weapons to Israel if Israel proceeds with its ground invasion of Rafah, denouncing the potential loss of civilian life as "wrong".
"We will continue to ensure Israel's security in terms of the Iron Dome system and their ability to respond to recent attacks from the Middle East... but this is wrong," Biden said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday. "We will not provide weapons and shells. Civilians have died in Gaza because of these bombs and other ways they have attacked population centers. I made it clear that if they go into Rafah, I will not provide the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the city, to deal with this problem."
This was widely interpreted to include all offensive weapons, such as bombs and shells. The Hill stressed that these remarks were "the first time he (Biden) has explicitly threatened to cut off the delivery of offensive weapons to a US ally."
Earlier in the day, the US State Department previewed a new "warning" to Israel over Rafah, saying it was a decision still being considered by the White House (i.e. whether to expand the suspension of weapons shipments beyond what was initially suspended). On the same day, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States was reviewing "other potential weapons systems" as needed.
Earlier, the United States suspended the delivery of about 3,500 bombs to Israel, which could cause huge collateral damage to the densely populated southern Gaza city of Rafah, as people became increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's war behavior in Gaza. The move is the most serious signal of the Biden administration's dissatisfaction with the ongoing war against Hamas.
The US government also hopes to reserve space for negotiators to meet in Cairo this week so that they can continue to work on a ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas. Officials involved in the negotiations include CIA Director William Burns.