US condemns deaths but says Israel policy unchanged
WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday condemned the loss of life of dozens of civilians as a result of an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, but said it is not planning any policy changes as a result of the Israeli actions.
National security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Israel had not violated President Joe Biden’s “red line” for withholding future offensive arms transfers because it has not, and it appears to the U.S. that it will not, launch a full-scale ground invasion into the city in southern Gaza.
“Everything that we can see tells us that they are not moving into a major ground operation in population centers in the center of Rafah,” Kirby said. Most of those killed in the Sunday strike were sheltering in tents.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a “tragic mishap” was made in carrying out the airstrike, adding to the surging international criticism Israel has faced over its war with Hamas, with even its closest allies expressing outrage at civilian deaths.
Biden and his top advisers have repeatedly warned the Israelis against carrying out widescale operations in Rafah without a plan to secure the safety of innocent civilians. But the administration made clear that it would not move — at least not immediately — to curtail any support for Israel as a result of the strike.
Kirby said Biden’s “not making decisions based on popularity or public opinion polls here or around the world,” but acknowledged it wasn’t in the U.S. interest or “our Israeli partner’s interest for them to become further isolated” on the world stage.
He called the loss of life “heartbreaking” and “horrific,” and said “we certainly condemn the loss of life here.”
He added that the U.S. was monitoring the results of an Israeli investigation into the strike, which suggested the civilian deaths were the result of a secondary explosion after a successful strike on two Hamas operatives.