(FeaturedHeadlines.com)The Biden administration has stopped shipments of thousands of bombs to Israel as the Israeli military took control of the Rafah border crossing and is likely to launch a full-scale ground invasion of the city, which is currently housing more than 1.5 million people, including a large number of refugees.
A senior official of the Biden administration revealed that the Israeli government has failed to address the US concerns about the Rafah invasion. If the US sends the weapons, they are likely to be used in the densely populated regions of Rafah, which will result in an unprecedented number of killings, the official added.
President Joe Biden also appeared in a CNN interview on Tuesday, May 8, and accused the Israeli military of killing civilians in Palestine. Biden stated that he would not provide more bombs to Israel if they invaded Rafah, adding that these bombs would otherwise be used to target urban centers.
This is the first time since October 7 that the US has announced to stop military aid to Israel.
Despite mounting global criticism, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged to invade Rafah, which he claims is the last stronghold of Hamas.
The United States has also urged Israel to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. However, the Netanyahu government is still hesitant to sign any such deal.
The US State Department also said that agreeing to the hostage deal is in the best interest of all the stakeholders involved.
According to Netanyahu, signing a ceasefire agreement without completely eliminating Hamas will only portray Israel as the weak party and empower Hamas to regroup.
Meanwhile, as the situation continues to escalate with Israel’s seizure of Rafah border crossings, a mass migration has already started in the city, with more than 100,000 people displaced in a couple of days.
Sources close to the Israeli government, however, claimed that any operation in Rafah would be “very limited” and only be launched to force Hamas to release all the hostages.
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