White House says Rafah strike does not violate Biden's warnings to Israel

The White House said Tuesday that Israel had not violated President Biden's warnings on the conduct of its military campaign in Rafah after an airstrike there over the weekend killed at least 45 Palestinians and injured hundreds more, suggesting the United States would impose no consequences for the Israeli action.

The airstrike on a makeshift tent encampment caused a fire to break out in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, creating one of the most horrifying scenes of the war in the Palestinian enclave. Images of charred bodies and videos of parents burning alive as their children screamed for help ricocheted across social media, prompting renewed global outrage and growing calls for Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.

Several Biden officials, including Vice President Harris, lamented the "heartbreaking" and "tragic" scenes and loss of life. But they said the mass-casualty event did not cross the "red line" Biden announced this month, when he said the United States would suspend delivery of offensive weapons to Israel if it went into "population centers" in Rafah.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/28/biden-rafah-gaza-civilian-deaths-israel-palestinians/