Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) responded in a tweet to the threat of American President Joe Biden to stop the ammunition supply to Israel, posting "Hamas ❤️ Biden."
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid responded: "If Netanyahu does not fire Ben-Gvir today, he is endangering every IDF soldier and every citizen in the State of Israel."
Minister of Foreign Affairs Israel Katz addressed Biden's threat and wrote that,"Israel will continue to fight Hamas until it is destroyed. There is no more just war than this."
Biden told CNN Wednesday night that he would stop shipments of American weapons to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a larger invasion of Rafah.
"Civilians were killed in Gaza as a result of these bombs and other equipment by which they target population centers," Biden said in reference to the 900 kg bombs included in the shipment that was stopped this week.
“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 – that deal with that problem,” Biden added.
A senior Israeli source clarified in response that Israel would conquer Rafah even without the aid of ammunition from the United States. "We have enough supplies to enter and conquer Rafah without American assistance. Rafah will be conquered anyway."
The source added that "the main problem is the message this sends to Hezbollah and Iran, that Israel would supposedly come without weapons to a confrontation in the north. Biden made a severe mistake, both morally and politically."
