Today, Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized US President Joe Biden because his administration stopped sending a shipment of weapons to Israel due to its military operations in Rafah, while Washington said that it had proposed to Tel Aviv “alternatives” for invading the city.

Early today, CNN quoted Netanyahu as saying that Biden made a mistake by stopping sending the arms shipment to Israel.

In a separate interview with the "Dr. Phil Prime Time" online program, the Israeli Prime Minister expressed his hope that he and the US President would be able to overcome their differences regarding the war in the Gaza Strip.

During the interview, Netanyahu acknowledged the loss of hundreds of soldiers in the besieged Strip, claiming that his forces destroyed 20 out of 24 battalions of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and stressing that the movement must be defeated in Rafah, as he put it.

Netanyahu said - in a statement issued by his office yesterday, Thursday - “We will fight with our nails if we have to,” in response to a warning issued by Biden that Washington would stop supplying weapons to Israel if it invaded Rafah.

For his part, the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Michael Herzog, said - on Thursday evening - that the direction taken by the Biden administration does not benefit the talks between Israel and the United States, and sends the wrong message to the region.

Stop weapons

Before that, the American President warned that his country would stop supplying weapons to Israel if it launched a major military operation in Rafah, and Biden’s words included, for the first time, an American recognition that the bombs supplied to Israel were used to kill Palestinian civilians.

He also said that he is working with Arab countries that are ready to reconstruct Gaza and help reach a two-state solution

Yesterday, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said that Israel has enough ammunition to conduct an operation in Rafah.

The security mini-ministerial council in Israel met on Thursday evening to discuss the latest developments regarding the possible exchange deal and the Rafah process.

For its part, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that the War Council and the security ministerial team met on Thursday evening, because estimates indicate that Israel is in trouble. “Does it continue its military operation in Rafah, or does it align it with the American President’s threat and wait for several weeks until most of the residents are displaced?”

American alternatives

Meanwhile, White House Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said yesterday evening that the US administration had proposed to the Israelis “alternatives” to defeat Hamas in Rafah that do not include major ground operations.

He explained that President Biden does not want Israel to use certain weapons in certain areas.

The American official said that the operation carried out by Israel in Rafah was limited, and aimed to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons and money into Gaza, as he put it.

He continued that Washington's position on Israel regarding Rafah will depend on the decisions that Tel Aviv will take in this regard, stressing that it agrees with the Israelis on the necessity of inflicting a permanent defeat on Hamas.

Reuters also quoted the White House as saying that President Joe Biden ordered his team to continue working with Israel to inflict a “permanent defeat on Hamas.”

In this context, Politico newspaper quoted White House officials as saying that Biden’s opposition to a large-scale Israeli invasion of Rafah has been consistent for months, justifying his decision to withhold ammunition from Israel by saying that the Hamas movement no longer poses a major threat after more than 7 months of war.

Arms shipment

For his part, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder confirmed that the United States has not yet taken a decision regarding the fate of the arms shipment whose delivery to Israel has been suspended.

He added that the Pentagon is now conducting a review of US military shipments, especially those that could cause widespread damage in populated areas.

He continued that the US army does not have any estimates about the number of civilians killed by American weapons used by Israel in Gaza, saying that his country expects Israel to use American weapons in accordance with international laws.

Hamas power

In US internal reactions, Reuters quoted Democratic Senator Chris Murphy as saying that the operation in Rafah was unlikely to affect the strength of Hamas in the long term.

Murphy added that it is not in the United States' strategic or moral interest to help Israel launch a military campaign in Rafah.

Republican lawmakers launched a sharp attack on President Joe Biden against the backdrop of the decision to suspend sending some weapons to Israel, considering that the decision was dictated by electoral considerations.

As for former President and Republican Party presidential candidate, Donald Trump, he accused Biden of abandoning Israel, stressing that he had never seen anything similar before.