WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Tuesday condemned the loss of lives of dozens of civilians due to an Israeli airstrike on Rafah, but said it plans no policy changes as a result of the Israeli actions.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Israel has not violated Biden’s “red line” on withholding future offensive arms transfers because the country has not launched a large-scale ground invasion of the city, and it appears the U.S. has not either will succeed. in southern Gaza.
“Everything we can see tells us they are not going to do a major ground operation in population centers in central Rafah,” Kirby said.
Kirby called the loss of life “heartbreaking” and “horrific” and said, “we certainly condemn the loss of life here.” He added that the US was monitoring the results of an Israeli investigation into the attack, which suggested the civilian deaths resulted from a secondary explosion after a successful attack on two Hamas operatives.
“We understand that this attack killed two senior Hamas leaders directly responsible for the attacks,” Kirby said. “We have also said many times that Israel must take every precaution to do more to protect innocent lives.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that Israel’s weeks-long offensive in Rafah was still on a “very different” scale than the attacks Israeli forces carried out on other cities in Gaza earlier in the seven-month war against Hamas . The US had urged Israel not to repeat previous attacks in Rafah, given the vulnerable civilians huddled there.
Miller said on Tuesday he had no direct knowledge of reports from witnesses on the ground that Israeli tanks had entered central Gaza, noting that Israel on Tuesday denied responsibility for another Israeli attack outside Rafah, which Gaza health officials said there are more than 20 people.
When asked if the strike would result in any U.S. policy changes, Kirby said: “I don’t have any policy changes to speak to.”
Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said she did not know whether it was a US-supplied weapon used in Sunday’s deadly attack that killed dozens of civilians at a displaced persons camp. “I don’t know what type of ammunition was used in that airstrike,” Singh said. “I have to refer you to the Israelis to talk about that.”
The Israelis have said they used small-bore precision munitions in the attack and have suggested a secondary explosion caused the civilian deaths. Singh said the US did not halt shipments to Israel in the wake of the attack. “Security assistance continues to flow,” Singh said.
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AP writers Tara Copp and Ellen Knickmeyer contributed.
