America will not leave Israel even after Rafah massacre

Washington: The White House on Tuesday condemned the Israeli airstrikes in Rafah that resulted in the death of dozens of civilians, but said it was 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” to prevent future transfers of offensive weapons because it had not launched a full-scale ground invasion of the city, and it appeared unlikely the US would do so.

“Everything we can see tells us they are not conducting a major ground operation in the population centers in the center of Rafah,” Kirby said. Kirby said the U.S. would monitor an investigation into the incident and hoped Israel would learn lessons from the airstrike. But Kirby said the bombing – which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a “tragic mistake” – fell short of the large-scale military operation that the U.S. had warned Israel would suffer consequences for. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 45 people, including children, were killed and 249 others wounded in the attack, which prompted condemnation from leaders around the world.