WASHINGTON (AP) — A UN court order Israel’s end to its offensive in the southern Gaza town of Rafah has deepened the rift with the United States over a military operation that faces growing international condemnation but that officials Americans describe, at least for now, as limited and targeted.
Friday’s ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague adds to the pressure facing an increasingly isolated Israel, just days after Norway, Ireland and Spain declared they would recognize a Palestinian stateand the chief prosecutor of a separate international tribunal requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as for the leaders of Hamas.
The Biden administration stands out from the global community: although it opposes a major offensive in Rafah, the administration also insists that the measures taken so far by its close ally Israel have not crossed the red lines.
So far, administration officials appear determined to continue their military and political support for Israel following the the deadly Hamas attack she suffered last Octoberwhile pressuring its ally to avoid a large-scale military operation in densely populated Rafah.
“What we have seen so far in terms of Israeli military operations in this area has been more targeted and limited, has not involved major military operations in the heart of dense urban areas,” the adviser told National Security Secretary Jake Sullivan speaks to reporters during a press briefing at the White House. this week.
But, he added, “we now have to see what happens from here.”
A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe the administration’s internal assessment of the situation, said the Gaza operation had “not yet reached the heart of Rafah, which brings us into the densest of dense areas.”
Earlier this month, the White House announced that it suspend a shipment of some 3,500 bombs, including massive 2,000-pound explosives that the Biden administration said resulted in civilian deaths. President Joe Biden warned during an interview on CNN that “if they enter Rafah, I will not provide them with the weapons that have historically been used to confront Rafah.”
In pressuring Israel, U.S. officials suggested a major operation constituted a red line that would undermine stalled negotiations on a deal to return Israeli hostages taken by Hamas and lead Biden to further reduce the weapons he would send to Israel.
But the tone in the White House appeared to change noticeably this week after Sullivan returns from visit to Israelwhere he said he had been informed of “improvements” in Israel’s plan to eliminate Hamas in Rafah and Saudi Arabia.
During Sullivan’s talks with Netanyahu and other officials during the trip, the Israeli side addressed many of Biden’s concerns about his plans for Rafah, according to a senior administration official who requested anonymity to discuss this sensitive issue.
The official said the administration had not given the green light to the Israeli plan, but that Israeli officials’ change in planning suggested they were taking Biden’s concerns seriously.
This assessment may not be of much consolation to Palestinians still stuck in Rafah – the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt, and site of a critical crossing point. for help. More than a million people have sought refuge there in recent months after fleeing fighting elsewhere, but some 900,000 people have since fled the city.
Israel has passed hundreds of trucks through the other main border crossing, Kerem Shalom, but the U.N. and humanitarian groups say Israeli military operations make transporting food, water and other supplies unsafe for them. Starving Palestinians.
The U.S. Agency for International Development says Gaza needs a steady flow of 600 truckloads a day of food and other aid to reverse the situation that USAID and UN leaders say UN World Food Program calls for famine to the north and to prevent it from spreading to the south.
Even with an American pier starting to bring a small amount of aid by seaGaza has received only a fraction of the amount of supplies needed since the Israeli offensive began.
Leading international humanitarian groups welcomed the ICJ ruling for the pressure they hoped it would bring. Doctors Without Borders said this confirmed how “catastrophic” the situation had become for Palestinian civilians in Gaza and “the desperate need for increased humanitarian aid immediately.”
There is no practical mechanism to force Israel to comply with the court order, which, in addition to ordering a halt to the offensive, also imposes an increase in humanitarian aid to the region and access in Gaza for war crimes investigators.
Israel has shown no signs that it intends to change course after Friday’s decision. The war in Gaza follows an October 7 attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, about a quarter of them soldiers, and another 250 taken captive. At least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Healthwhich does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The court’s demands go beyond what the United States is asking of Israel at the moment, although Washington has nevertheless indicated that it remains opposed to a more intrusive operation in Gaza.
“Regarding Rafah, we have long made known our concerns about an all-out military attack on Rafah and the damage this could cause to the civilian population in the absence of a clear and credible plan to protect them,” he said. declared the Secretary of State. State Antony Blinken told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Blinken also reiterated that the administration does not believe a major offensive would achieve the results Israel seeks, “which is to effectively and sustainably deal with Hamas.”
“Our concerns about a widespread military attack on Rafah remain,” he said. “We have other ways to address the challenge posed by Hamas, which we believe can be more effective and more lasting. »
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Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer and Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
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