Biden exclusively to CNN: Israel used our bombs to kill civilians. He doesn’t get any more ammo

In recent days, the US administration has postponed or even suspended the delivery of bombs, roughly half of which are powerful bombs weighing around one ton. If Benjamin Netanyahu’s government decided to expand its invasion into the densely populated Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, it would cross a red line, according to Biden. In that case, the US would only supply Israel with defensive munitions, for example for the Iron Dome air defense system.

“I’ve made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t yet — I’m not going to supply weapons that have been used in other cities in the past,” Biden said in an exclusive interview with CNN. “Civilians in Gaza were dying as a result of the explosions of American bombs and other means that the Israelis use in populated areas,” he noted in reference to the mentioned one-ton bombs.

According to some analysts, these are some of the most destructive conventional weapons in the arsenal of Western armies, namely the US. The most recently suspended supply of ammunition was to include roughly 1,800 bombs weighing 900 kilograms and 1,700 bombs weighing 225 kilograms. Israel was to use them mainly in the first weeks of the operation in the Gaza Strip, including in populated areas.

CNN noted that Biden’s “confession” is the sharpest delineation against Israel’s progress since the beginning of the seven-month conflict between the Jewish state and the terrorist Hamas. And the note that US munitions are contributing to the civilian casualties is, according to reporters, a sign that the president has come under enormous pressure – including from Democratic politicians.

However, Biden emphasized that support for Israel in defense against terrorist attacks does not end. But Tel Aviv must reconsider how it is proceeding in the Gaza Strip. “We are not leaving Israel’s security in jeopardy. We will continue to provide ammunition for the Iron Dome system. But we keep our hands off Israel’s ability to wage war in these areas. It’s just wrong. We will not supply weapons and artillery shells,” he underlined his position in the interview.

A split between Washington and Tel Aviv?

Biden’s words to CNN could further deepen the rift between him and Netanyahu. Biden should have told him on Monday that American support for operations in the populated areas of Rafah would be significantly reduced.

“I made it quite clear to Bibi and his war cabinet – if they go into the populated center of the city, they will not get our help. I told him not to make the same mistake we did in America. It made sense for us to get bin Laden, but not to unify Afghanistan,” he pointed out, referring to the American experience in the Middle East.

In recent months, Biden has also become the target of criticism for anti-Israel demonstrations. Participants in the protests called him, for example, “Genocide Joe”. Here, however, the American president objected to hate speech and the seeds of anti-Semitism.

“Yes, there is a right to freedom of expression and protest. But there is no right to use hate speech and threaten Jewish students or block people from entering the classroom. That’s against the law,” Biden said in an interview with CNN.

Tel Aviv protests

Israeli officials, according to world media sources and agencies, expressed strong indignation and deep disappointment to the Americans behind the scenes. At the same time, they express concern that the reduction of military support will jeopardize the negotiations for the release of the Israeli hostages from Gaza. In public statements, the Israelis downplayed the news of the halted delivery of bombs.

In the Gaza Strip since last October, when Hamas committed bloody terrorist attacks in southern Israel and ignited the conflict, 34,844 Palestinians have died as a result of the fighting. This is according to data from the health authorities in Gaza on Wednesday; the numbers include Hamas fighters as well as civilians, who are the majority. However, casualty figures cannot currently be independently verified, as can other information that comes from the scene of the fighting and Hamas-controlled authorities.

Republican congressmen expressed their disapproval of the move by the Democratic President Biden’s administration. Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell sent a letter to Biden criticizing the delivery suspension. They say the move raises the question of whether the president’s commitment to Israel’s security really is as bulletproof as Biden has previously claimed.