'Hamas Loves Biden': Israel Slams US Rafah Threat

Israeli political leaders have hit out at President Joe Biden for threatening a freeze on American military aid to the country if it proceeds with its planned invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, the last refuge for more than 1 million Palestinians fleeing Israel's offensive in the territory.

Biden said that if Israel goes into Rafah, "we're not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used."

"Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers," Biden added during an interview with CNN. "I made it clear that if they go into Rafah—they haven't gone in 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."

He continued: "We're not walking away from Israel's security. We're walking away from Israel's ability to wage war in those areas."

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who is known for inflammatory remarks encouraging the killing of Palestinians and the destruction of Gaza, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Hamas [loves] Biden."

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also known for extreme anti-Palestinian views and support for continued expansion of West Bank settlements considered illegal under international law, was characteristically pugnacious.

"We must continue this war until victory, despite—and to a certain extent precisely because of—the opposition of the Biden administration and the stopping of arms shipments," he said.

It is critical to "continue the war in Gaza until the destruction of Hamas and the return of the hostages," he continued. "This involves fully conquering Rafah here and now."

Smotrich added: "Only together can we stand against our enemies and against the great international pressures that are being exerted on us to surrender."

More measured, but still critical, responses came from Israel's leading diplomats. Foreign Minister Israel Katz, for example, wrote on X without direct reference to Biden that "Israel will continue to fight Hamas until its destruction."

He added: "There is no war more just than this."

Among the first to respond was Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, who described Biden's intervention as "difficult and very disappointing." Speaking to Israel's Kan public radio on Wednesday, Erdan said the White House stance was a fraught political move.

"Of course, any pressure on Israel is interpreted by our enemies as something that gives them hope," he said. "There are many Jewish Americans who voted for the president and for the Democratic Party, and now they are hesitant."

Newsweek has contacted the White House by email for comment.

Some leading opposition Israeli figures have instead focused their ire on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right Cabinet members.

"Netanyahu and his government continue to make Israel's strategic situation worse and take us closer and closer to existential danger," Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli tweeted. "This is what Netanyahu has done throughout his time in office."

She added: "Netanyahu is dangerous to Israel."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid—who is among those pressing for new elections—said Ben Gvir's tweet posed a danger to the country. "If Netanyahu does not fire Ben Gvir today, he is endangering every soldier in the IDF and every citizen in the State of Israel," he tweeted.

Biden's threat to freeze military aid is the strongest action yet in the White House's effort to deter an Israeli assault on Rafah. Netanyahu and his war Cabinet have repeatedly said that Israel's war to "eradicate" Hamas and free the hostages it still holds cannot be successful without entering the town on the Egyptian border.

Israeli tanks this week seized the border crossing area in a "limited" operation and launched renewed airstrikes in Rafah, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have not yet launched a full assault.

The U.S. has already delayed the delivery of a military aid shipment containing precision-guided munitions, a step that Israeli military figures said might result in more civilian casualties if the IDF resorts to using less sophisticated bombs.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told journalists at a Wednesday briefing that the shipment freeze should not be interpreted as a strategic shift. "People should be absolutely clear that we are committed to Israel's security," he said, adding that other planned deliveries are under review.

"But as we have made clear, and I just did a moment ago, we have very serious concerns about a potential Rafah operation," he said.

Miller went on: "We have concerns about what that would mean for the civilian population there—when you look at the fact that there are so many people crowded into such a small area, when you look at the way Israel has conducted its operations in the past and what the impact on the civilian population has been. And we also have concerns about the impact of any potential operation on the delivery of humanitarian assistance."