WASHINGTON: The White House on Tuesday condemned the loss of life of dozens of civilians as a result of an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, but said it is not planning any policy changes as a result of the Israeli actions.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Israel had not violated Biden’s “red line” for withholding future offensive arms transfers because it has not, and it appears to the US that it will not, launch a full-scale ground invasion into the city.
“Everything that we can see tells us that they are not moving into a major ground operation in population centres in the centre of Rafah,” Kirby said.
The US would be monitoring the investigation into the incident and expected Israel to learn lessons from the airstrike, Kirby said. But Kirby said the bombing – which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “tragic mistake” – was short of the large-scale military operation that the US has warned Israel would carry consequences.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 45 people, including children, were killed and an additional 249 people were wounded in the strike, prompting condemnation from leaders around the globe.