JERUSALEM—Rocket attacks rained down on Israel from Rafah on Friday and more on Saturday, after President Biden issued an ultimatum to withhold offensive weapons from the Jewish state if Israel launches an invasion of Rafah. A rocket was fired.
Hamas fired rockets from Rafah into the southern Israeli city of Beersheva for the first time since December on Friday, as Iran’s proxy Hezbollah barraged the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona with rockets, causing a massive fire. . Four Israeli soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip on Friday.
Jonathan Conrics told Fox News Digital: “In the past, when regime officials publicly attacked or criticized Israel during wars, Hamas hardened its demands in exchange for the release of hostages and actually “delayed the success of delicate negotiations and minimized their chances of success.” Mr. Conricus served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for 24 years, serving as a combat commander in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
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The aftermath of a Hezbollah rocket attack in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona on May 10, 2024. Credit Erez Bar Simon/TPS-IL (Erez Bar Simon/TPS-IL)
“When Israel’s enemies sense tensions between the United States and Israel, its most loyal and steadfast ally in the region, they push Israel further because they understand that the United States will ultimately punish Israel. Embolden them to continue attacking and using human shield tactics to protect themselves, regardless of Hamas or Hezbollah’s actions.”
Conrics, who served as IDF spokesman during the Gaza war, said: “These U.S. statements embolden Israel’s enemies and will therefore lead to increased violence and fighting in the short term. In the long term. “There is a possibility that the United States will push for a new war in the Middle East.” Forging alliances outside of the U.S. sphere of influence reinforces concerns that many U.S. partners have about the quality and solidity of U.S. assistance when it is needed most. ”
On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces announced that “five missile launches were confirmed from central Gaza toward the Beersheba area.” The Israel Defense Forces said nine more shots were confirmed to have crossed into the city from the Rafah area and landed in open areas. (Screenshot: IDF Spokesperson Corps.) (IDF Spokesperson Unit)
David Friedman, a former ambassador to Israel during the Trump administration, posted a candid message on They’re firing. Why aren’t they doing it? – They don’t have anything.” Fearing retaliation, Biden encouraged Hamas! ”
Fox News Digital reported that many Israelis see Biden’s suspension of weapons deliveries as a betrayal of his promise to support the Jewish state with an “ironclad” security promise.
Retired General Jack Keene told Fox & Friends on Friday that Biden is “moving away from Israel” and called Biden’s decision “amazing.”
Enemies of Israel and the United States are reportedly watching Biden’s decision to bring daylight between the United States and Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.
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The Israel Defense Forces is preparing in southern Israel near the Gaza border for a possible ground attack in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, to continue fighting Hamas and disband its battalion. Southern Israel, May 1, 2024. Photo: Noam Shaar/TPS (Photo credit: Noam Schall/TPS)
On Thursday, White House National Security and Public Affairs Advisor John Kirby said the United States fully supports Israel. “The argument that somehow we’re moving away from Israel flies in the face of the facts. I mean, this is a president who visited Israel within days of the October 7 attack. This has provided additional military supplies to Israel on short notice and, frankly, provided expertise from our own military to assist them as they consider their plans and operations,” he said. He told reporters at the House.
Kirby went on to say, “This president…is the person who put American pilots, fighter pilots, in the air to help shoot down more than 300 missiles and drones launched by Iran in mid-April. So the argument that we’re somehow trying to distance ourselves from this issue is, “Israel, we’re not going to help them defeat Hamas.”
Matthew Levitt, director of the Washington Institute’s Reinhardt Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, told FOX News Digital that “by default, before hostages (including American hostages) are released and Hamas “The weapon could be activated after a malicious act.” Encouraging both Hamas and Hezbollah. ”
Hamas is holding more than 100 hostages, including Americans. Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind Hamas’s massacre of about 1,200 people, including more than 30 Americans, used hostages as human shields to thwart Israeli soldiers trying to capture him in tunnels deep underground in Gaza. It is believed that it is being used.
Palestinian Hamas terrorists are seen during a military show in the Bani Suheira neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza Strip, July 20, 2017. Images submitted to the FBI showed protesters at Stanford University wearing headbands similar to those worn by Hamas members. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
The State Department did not respond to questions about whether Biden’s blocking of offensive weapons to Israel would embolden Hamas and Hezbollah.
Thursday, spokesman Matthew Miller said. “What the president has made clear is that we are concerned about the possibility of military operations in Rafah. I don’t think it’s a secret. We have made these concerns public and we have We have clearly communicated our concerns.” “The Israeli government and, as the president pointed out, there are certain types of military assistance that we will not provide to Israel for use in operations in Rafah,” Miller said.
The Jewish Institute for National Security of the United States (JINSA) has released a letter from concerned parties. retired US military leader, criticized Biden’s arms directive. “America’s support for the only Jewish state must be clear, unwavering, and conditional as anti-Semitism rises in the United States and the world following the single-day loss of innocent Jewish life since the Holocaust. The benefits of this partnership for Americans are: “The people and this important region are too precious to throw away.” ”
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President Biden stands between a photo of an IDF tank and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AP, Getty Images)
The letter goes on to say, “The United States will support Israel in restoring its security after the collapse of the country on October 7th against Iran and its terrorist proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen who seek to destroy the Jewish state.” The same goes for these forces,” he added. An enemy of America and everything we stand for.
“This axis of terror backed by Iran, and other adversaries and allies around the world, will be watching closely to see whether the United States will stand by one of its closest allies fighting for its own defense, even when the going gets tough.” are doing. “
“There is no doubt that the longer this unwarranted embargo continues, the more Iran and Hezbollah will escalate,” said Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former National Security Council official. “Our enemies feed on perceptions of Iran.” The space between the United States and Israel, and the projection of weakness and despair in the capitals of both countries. ”
Fox News Digital’s inquiries to the White House, Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond.
