Following an airstrike that ignited a large fire and resulted in numerous Palestinian deaths, Israeli forces advanced further into Rafah. The White House maintained that Israel had not breached the Biden administration's "red line."
On Tuesday, Israeli tanks were observed entering central Rafah for the first time, amid growing international condemnation over the fatalities in a densely populated tent camp for displaced civilians. Additionally, U.S. aid deliveries to Gaza by sea were halted after damage to a temporary pier. On Wednesday, Israel's national security adviser suggested that the conflict is expected to continue until the end of the year.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby reassured reporters that the U.S. was not ignoring Israel's operations in southern Gaza, from which around 1 million Palestinians have fled in recent weeks. He indicated that the Biden administration did not view Israel's actions in Rafah as a "major ground operation" that would violate President Biden's warnings and prompt a change in U.S. policy, such as halting weapons shipments.
Kirby clarified that a major ground operation would involve "thousands and thousands of troops moving in a maneuvered, concentrated, coordinated way against various targets on the ground." A U.S. official told NBC News that while the deadly airstrike was a "horrific incident," it appeared to be a tragic mistake rather than an indication of Israel initiating a full-scale assault on Rafah.
Earlier this month, Biden told CNN: “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gone into Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities — that deal with that problem.”
When questioned about Israeli tanks nearing central Gaza and whether this constituted a full-scale ground operation, Kirby explained that Israeli officials claimed their tanks were moving along the Philadelphi Corridor, a strategic strip of land along the Egypt-Gaza border, and not entering the town itself. "That's what the Israelis have said," Kirby noted. "We’re going based on what the Israelis are telling us, what they’re saying publicly, and what we’re able to discern as best we can."
Kirby and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed questions about an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp in Gaza over the weekend that killed Hamas operatives and dozens of civilians. Kirby's comments came just days after the airstrike caused a fire in Rafah's Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, killing at least 45 people, including children, according to local health officials.
Hala Rharrit, a U.S. diplomat who resigned from the State Department last month in protest over Washington's policy on Israel’s war in Gaza, criticized the Biden administration for trying to "wiggle their way out of this latest shift" on what constitutes a "red line." She argued that the president's statement about population centers being a "red line" was meant to prevent mass civilian casualties, regardless of whether they were caused by tanks or bombs from the air.
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