Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a defiant tone against US President Joe Biden after Washington withheld a shipment of bombs as a warning to its top Middle East ally not to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
In a first, punchy clip on the social media site X, Netanyahu said: “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone” and “fight tooth and nail.”
He then pivoted to a more conciliatory approach when chatting with Phil McGraw, the US talk show host known as Dr Phil.
Photo: AP
“I’ve known Joe Biden for many years, 40 years and more,” Netanyahu said in the interview on Thursday on Dr Phil Primetime broadcast on Merit Street Media. “We often had agreements, but we’ve had our disagreements and we’ve been able to overcome them. I hope we can overcome them now.”
Netanyahu said Israel must go into Rafah to finish off the remaining battalions of Hamas, the US-designated terrorist group that killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped about 250 on Oct. 7 last year.
He said Hamas would “murder again and again” if allowed to survive in Rafah.
“We have to achieve victory,” he said. “That means we have to destroy all these battalions, which we will. We face very strong opposition to that, but we’re going to overcome it.”
Netanyahu said Israel would do its utmost to make sure civilians leave Rafah, where more than 1 million people are sheltering, before any attack.
He also criticized the “madness” of pro-Palestinian rallies on US college campuses, saying protesters are “supporting genocide,” adding that this reflected “the sorry state of American higher education.”
On Wednesday, Biden said he would halt additional shipments of offensive weapons to Israel if it launches a ground invasion of Rafah, decrying the potential loss of civilian life as “just wrong.”
“We’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently,” Biden said in an interview with CNN, referring to air-defense weaponry. “But it’s just wrong. We’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.”
Like Netanyahu, US officials followed sharp criticism with more conciliatory remarks on Thursday.
White House officials said the US stands by its ally, while urging Netanyahu to refrain from an assault that could worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the administration paused, but did not cancel, the shipment of about 3,500 bombs, which he said was limited to specific munitions that could add to the civilian death toll in Gaza.
“The arguments that somehow we’re walking away from Israel flies in the face of the facts,” Kirby told reporters.
There were also indications that the White House had not sought an open confrontation with Netanyahu.
US officials initially planned to inform the Israeli government privately that the US intended to pause the bomb shipment to ramp up pressure on Netanyahu — but not to follow through unless there was a major incursion into urban areas of Rafah. However, that plan was foiled when Israeli officials leaked it, people familiar with the situation said.
China’s military yesterday showed off its machine-gun equipped robot battle “dogs” at the start of its biggest ever drills with Cambodian forces. More than 2,000 troops, including 760 Chinese military personnel, are taking part in the drills at a remote training center in central Kampong Chhnang Province and at sea off Preah Sihanouk Province. The 15-day exercise, dubbed Golden Dragon, also involves 14 warships — three from China — two helicopters and 69 armored vehicles and tanks, and includes live-fire, anti-terrorism and humanitarian rescue drills. The hardware on show included the so-called “robodogs” — remote-controlled four-legged robots with automatic rifles mounted on their
A Philippine boat convoy bearing supplies for Filipino fishers yesterday said that it was headed back to port, ditching plans to sail to a reef off the Southeast Asian country after one of their boats was “constantly shadowed” by a Chinese vessel. The Atin Ito (“This Is Ours”) coalition convoy on Wednesday set sail to distribute fuel and food to fishers and assert Philippine rights in the disputed South China Sea. “They will now proceed to the Subic fish port to mark the end of their successful mission,” the group said in a statement. A Philippine Coast Guard vessel escorting the convoy was
SHAKE-UP: Lam, who would be the third president in less than two years, emerged as one of the country’s most important officials after leading an anti-corruption effort Vietnam has nominated the enforcer of the Communist Party’s anti-corruption drive as the next president and proposed a new head of the National Assembly, in appointments that could ease months of political turmoil and allow policymakers to refocus on a struggling economy. Unprecedentedly for a one-party nation once known for its stable politics, two state presidents and a National Assembly speaker have stepped down in less than 18 months, all for unspecified “wrongdoing” amid a major anti-graft campaign which is unnerving foreign investors because of its chilling effect on bureaucracy. After approval from the National Assembly, which could come this week, Vietnamese
MOSTLY SYMBOLIC: The ruling party has a large enough majority to override the veto of the legislation, which the president said contradicts the constitution Georgia’s president on Saturday vetoed a so-called “Russian law” targeting media that has sparked weeks of mass protests. The legislation would require media and non-governmental organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad. Critics of the bill say it closely resembles legislation used by the Kremlin to silence opponents, and that it would obstruct Georgia’s bid to join the EU. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who is increasingly at odds with the ruling Georgian Dream party, said that the legislation contradicts the country’s constitution and “all European standards,” adding