Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared in a video statement that Israeli forces will continue their attacks in Gaza despite the United States’ objection to suspend certain weapon shipments.
Netanyahu stated, “If Israel is forced to stand alone — Israel will stand alone,” during a public speech on Israeli Holocaust Memorial Day, which was posted on his official social media account on Thursday.
The Israeli Prime Minister emphasised that “no amount of pressure” will deter Israel from “defending itself,” according to a report by the Xinhua news agency.
In a CNN interview on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden indicated that he would halt certain shipments of US weapons to Israel if Netanyahu launches a significant invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip where more than one million Palestinians have sought refuge.
Biden clarified, “We’re not walking away from Israel’s security. We’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas.”
The US President acknowledged that Israel had used US-made bombs on civilians in Gaza, leading to civilian casualties. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned on Wednesday that the US had already paused “one shipment of high payload munitions” to Israel.
According to reports from US news outlets, the US has sent hundreds of shipments of weapons to Israel since the ongoing conflict began on October 7, 2023.
