House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said President Biden and his administration have made clear their intention to send weapons to Israel in connection with the invasion of Rafah.
“My main criticism of the administration…the president just hasn’t been clear about what his policy is right now,” Smith said. news nations Thursday on “The Hill” with anchor Blake Berman. “It is not the Biden administration’s policy to completely cut Israel off if it enters Rafah.”
President Biden on Wednesday threatened to halt the delivery of bombs, artillery shells and other offensive weapons to Israel if the Israeli military launches an invasion of Rafah.
“Civilians are being killed in Gaza as a result of bombs and other attacks on populated areas,” Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
“If they go into Rafah, they haven’t gone into Rafah yet, but even if they go into Rafah, they have historically used to deal with Rafah, to deal with cities. “I’ve made it clear that I will not supply the weapons that have been used. I will address that issue,” Biden added.
Smith said in an interview on “The Hill” that the “key group” standing in the way of a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas is the Palestinian militants themselves.
“We have been negotiating a ceasefire for three months,” Smith said. “Hamas refuses to agree to this, because they insist on Israel…It’s basically a unilateral surrender, and if they do surrender, Hamas won’t even promise to return the hostages. ”
Hamas announced earlier this week that it had agreed to a proposal for a temporary ceasefire, but Israel said the terms were not in line with its main demands.
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