Biden says he will block arms to Israel if Netanyahu invades Rafah

Joe Biden has warned he will stop supplying US weapons to Israel if it goes ahead with a planned ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza.

It marked the first time the US president has explicitly conditioned the transfer of American weaponry on Israel’s military actions as he acknowledged that US bombs have been used to kill civilians in Gaza.

Mr Biden was reported to have cautioned Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, against invading the southern Gazan city of Rafah during a phone call on Monday.

In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Mr Biden was more explicit about his conversations with Israeli officials.

He said: “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet – if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities”.

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they [Israel] go after population centres,” Mr Biden said.

Rafah - the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza - is also currently holding more than a million displaced civilians.

Mr Biden said Washington was still committed to Israel’s defence and would supply Iron Dome rocket interceptors and other defensive arms.

But he said that if Israel entered Rafah, “we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells used”.

Mr Biden’s comments follow his decision last week to pause a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel, in a striking manifestation of the growing divide between his administration and Mr Netanyahu’s government.

It comes as the US president faces growing pressure at home, particularly from members of his own party, to limit shipments of arms amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Until now, Mr Biden has resisted those calls and staunchly reiterated his support for Israel’s efforts to go after Hamas.

But his administration has warned against a looming Israeli invasion of Rafah without a plan for the civilians sheltering in the border city.

Mr Biden said Israel’s actions in Rafah had not yet crossed a red line of entering heavily populated zones, saying: “I’ve made it clear to Bibi and the war cabinet: They’re not going to get our support, if in fact they go on these population centres.”