Netanhayu shrugs off US threat, vows to continue attacks

JERUSALEM. – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement yesterday that the Israeli forces will continue their attacks in Gaza despite the US threat to halt some weapon shipments.

“If Israel is forced to stand alone – Israel will stand alone,” said Netanyahu in a public speech made on Sunday’s Israeli Holocaust Memorial Day and posted on his official X account yesterday.

The Israeli prime minister added that “no amount of pressure” will stop Israel from “defending itself.”

During a CNN interview on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said that he would halt some shipments of US weapons to Israel if Netanyahu launches a major invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip where more than 1 million Palestinians are taking refuge.

“We’re not walking away from Israel’s security. We’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas,” said Biden.

The US president admitted that Israel used US bombs on civilians in Gaza. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centres,” said Biden.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that the US had already paused “one shipment of high payload munitions” to Israel. The US has sent hundreds of shipments of weapons to Israel.

Meanwhile, as the conflict in Gaza continues to escalate, tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Rafah are facing an increasingly dire situation.

Families are being forced to leave their homes, packing up their belongings and fleeing the area amidst the uncertainty and chaos brought on by Israel’s seizure of nearby border crossings and the looming threat of a full-scale invasion.

The closure of key border crossings, including Kerem Shalom and Rafah, has severely hampered humanitarian aid efforts.

While the Israeli military has reopened Kerem Shalom, allowing some movement of goods, humanitarian aid has yet to enter Gaza due to the absence of personnel on the Palestinian side. This closure not only exacerbates an already dire humanitarian crisis but also hampers efforts to provide essential supplies such as food and medicine to Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Palestinian.

The situation in Rafah remains tense, with smoke rising over the southern Gaza Strip as Israeli forces maintain control over the area. – Xinhua-Agencies