In quietly halting a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel last week, President Joe Biden at last began exercising U.S. leverage to halt a full-scale invasion of Rafah, the final refuge in Gaza for about a million Palestinians displaced by Israeli destruction elsewhere in the besieged territory.
It’s the right move, even though Israel may have a sufficient stockpile from previous U.S. shipments to press forward.
Biden has tried to walk a line between supporting Israel in its effort to destroy Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack that killed about 1,200 people, and pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to limit civilian casualties. Until now, that pressure came only in the form of words. The Gaza death toll is nearing 35,000, and much of the strip has been obliterated. Survivors face starvation because Israel cut off access to corridors for delivery of food and other humanitarian assistance. Pressure from Biden succeeded in reopening some aid routes, but Israel has since limited their use.
Israeli has launched airstrikes in Rafah and its troops and tanks entered the area on Tuesday. But as of yet there has been no large-scale bombing. On Wednesday, Biden said publicly for the first time that the U.S. would stop supplies of some offensive weapons if Israel launches a full invasion in Rafah.
Congress, under pressure from Biden, approved $26 billion in aid to Israel last month, and administration officials said the president intends to deliver all of it.