President Biden acknowledged on Wednesday that US bombs have been used to kill Palestinian civilians, while warning that the United States would withhold certain weapons if Israel launched a long-threatened attack in southern Gaza.
In some of his strongest language yet on the Gaza war, Mr. Biden said the United States would still guarantee Israel's security, including the Iron Dome missile defense system and Israel's “ability to respond to attacks.”
But he said he would block the supply of weapons that could be fired in the densely populated areas of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering. The Israeli government says it must invade Rafah to destroy Hamas, which killed 1,200 people in the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
“If they invade Rafah, I will not provide the weapons that have been historically used to tackle Rafah, to tackle the cities, that tackle that problem,” Mr Biden said in an interview with CNN's Erin Burnett.
He added: “But it's just wrong. We are not going to – we are not going to supply the weapons used and artillery shells that were used.”
Asked whether US 2,000-pound bombs have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, Mr Biden said: “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a result of those bombs and other ways they go after population centers.”
Biden's comments underscore the growing rift between the United States and its closest ally in the Middle East over the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 people and created a humanitarian crisis. The United States is by far the largest supplier of weapons to Israel, and the Biden administration plans to do so submit a report to Congress This week it will assess whether the country believes Israel's assurances that it used US weapons in accordance with US and international law.
The president already transmission stopped of 3,500 bombs last week amid concerns they could be used in a major attack on Rafah – the first time since the October 7 attack on Israel that Mr Biden has used US weapons to try to influence how the war is being waged.
Mr Biden had resisted previous calls to make aid conditional on Israel, and the White House has said this was also the case no “red lines” for Israel in its campaign against Hamas.
Mr. Biden has remained steadfast in his support for Israel's right to defend itself, even as he speaks out strongly against the Rafah invasion and grows frustrated by what he once described as Israel's “indiscriminate bombing.”
But Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed US warnings and said Israel would make progress in rooting out Hamas even if it when he has to do it alone.
This week, Israel's war cabinet voted unanimously to attack Rafah, and Israeli forces warned more than 100,000 civilians to evacuate as it began what it called “targeted attacks” against Hamas.
US officials said this week that Israel had said its operation so far in Rafah was “limited” and “designed to cut off Hamas' ability to smuggle weapons into Gaza,” but continued to express concern about an escalation .
Mr. Biden said he does not view Israeli operations in Rafah so far as a full-scale invasion because they have not hit “population centers.”
But he said he viewed them as “right on the border”, adding that they were causing problems with key allies such as Egypt, which has been integral to the ceasefire negotiations and opening of border crossings for humanitarian aid.
Mr. Biden said he had made it clear to Mr. Netanyahu and his war cabinet that they would not receive support if they continued an offensive in densely populated areas.
“We are not running away from Israel's security,” he said, “we are running away from Israel's ability to wage war in those areas.”
Mr Biden was also asked about the protests in Gaza on university campuses – particularly chants calling him “Genocide Joe” – that have erupted in recent weeks.
Asked if he hears the message from those young Americans, Mr. Biden said:
“Absolutely, I hear the message.”