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President Biden acknowledged on Wednesday that American bombs have been used to kill Palestinian civilians as he warned that the United States would withhold certain weapons if Israel launches a long-threatened assault in southern Gaza.<\/p>\n
In some of his strongest language to date on the seven-month war, Mr. Biden said the United States would still ensure Israel\u2019s security, including the Iron Dome missile defense system and Israel\u2019s \u201cability to respond to attacks\u201d like the one Iran launched in April<\/a>.<\/p>\n But he said he would block the delivery of weapons that could be fired into densely populated areas of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering.<\/p>\n The president had already halted the shipment<\/a> of 3,500 bombs last week out of concern that they might be used in a major assault on Rafah \u2014 the first time since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 that Mr. Biden has leveraged U.S. arms to try to influence how the war is waged.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n On Wednesday, he said that he would also block the delivery of artillery shells.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they go into Rafah, I\u2019m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem,\u201d Mr. Biden said in an interview with CNN\u2019s Erin Burnett<\/a>.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cBut it\u2019s just wrong. We\u2019re not going to \u2014 we\u2019re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used, that have been used.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether 2,000-pound American bombs had been used to kill civilians in Gaza, Mr. Biden said: \u201cCivilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Biden\u2019s remarks underscore the growing rift between the United States and its closest Middle East ally over the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 people and caused a humanitarian crisis. The United States is by far the biggest supplier of weapons<\/a> to Israel, and the Biden administration plans to deliver a report to Congress<\/a> this week assessing whether it believes Israel\u2019s assurances that it has used American weapons in accordance with U.S. and international law.<\/p>\n Mr. Biden had resisted earlier calls to condition aid to Israel Mr. Biden has remained unwavering in his support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself, even as he speaks out forcefully against the invasion of Rafah and grows frustrated with what he once described as Israel\u2019s \u201cindiscriminate bombing<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n