Free Republic

During an interview aired on Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” President Joe Biden stated that his promise to cut off transfers of bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they go into Rafah’s population centers is “not walking away from Israel’s security” but it is “walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas.” Biden also stated that “we’ve held up the weapons” by delaying a shipment of bombs to Israel even though Israel has “Not yet” crossed his red line by going into Rafah’s populated areas.

During a portion of an interview with CNN set to air on Wednesday’s broadcast of “OutFront” that was aired on Wednesday’s broadcast of “The Situation Room,” President Joe Biden stated that if Israel goes into population centers in Rafah, “I’m not going to supply them the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem.” And that while Israel will still get supplies for the Iron Dome and to give them the “ability to respond to attacks” he has “made it clear to Bibi and the War Cabinet, they’re...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing heat over its military support for Israel's war, the Biden administration is due to deliver a first-of-its-kind formal verdict this week on whether the airstrikes on Gaza and restrictions on delivery of aid have violated international and U.S. laws designed to spare civilians from the worst horrors of war.A decision against close ally Israel would add to pressure on President Joe Biden to curb the flow of weapons and money to Israel's military. The Democratic administration took one of the first steps in that direction in recent days, when it paused a shipment of 3,500 bombs...

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed Wednesday at the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense that the U.S. is withholding a shipment of weapons to Israel over concerns about its ongoing attack on Hamas in Rafah. Austin, while claiming that the Biden administration’s commitment to Israel’s security was “ironclad,” said that the U.S. had concerns about Israel’s potential use of large bombs in Rafah and had therefore paused a bomb shipment. “We’ve been very clear… from the very beginning that Israel shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battlespace. And...

The US last week paused a bomb shipment for Israel over concerns it was going ahead with a major ground operation in Rafah, southern Gaza, a senior administration official says. The shipment consisted of 1,800 2,000lb (907kg) bombs and 1,700 500lb bombs, the official told CBS News, the BBC's media partner in the US. Israel has not "fully addressed" US concerns over humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah, the official says. Israel made no immediate comment. Overnight, there were further Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, hours after Israeli forces backed by tanks took control of the key Rafah...

Israeli officials said Monday that Biden administration officials had secretly worked with mediators, without Israel’s knowledge, to craft a Hamas “agreement” to ceasefire terms in an attempt to deter an attack on Hamas in Rafah. On Monday, as Breitbart News reported, with Israel beginning its operation in Rafah by warning civilians to leave, Hamas suddenly announced that it agreed to a “ceasefire” — on unfamiliar terms that Israel had not actually offered. Israel, regarding the move as a bluff aimed at the international media in an attempt to pressure Israel to abandon the operation, decided to send junior-level diplomats to...

Has the Biden administration forgotten the injunction to never negotiate with terrorists? With the White House seeking to placate Hamas while censuring Israel for having the gall to defend itself, it seems the administration has embraced the exact opposite of that old wisdom. In her daily briefing on Monday, underqualified White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre only supported that impression with her words on a possible deal with Hamas. A reporter asked her about President Joe Biden’s Sunday call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The significant focus of that … call was obviously on securing the release of all...

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) approved a plan Sunday for attacking the final Hamas stronghold in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, near the Egyptian border, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to visit on Tuesday. The IDF said in a statement: Today (Sunday), on the eve of the second holiday of Passover, the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, discussed and approved plans for the continuation of the war with the Commanding Officer of the Southern Command, MG Yaron Finkelman, and all the division and brigade commanders in the command.

Former International Court of Justice President Joan Donoghue says media inaccurately covered interim verdict in January, which ruled on rights of the plaintiffs, not Israel's actions. Video from X

British troops could be deployed on the ground in Gaza to help deliver aid via a new sea route, the BBC has learned. The US has said no American forces would go ashore and an unnamed "third party" would drive trucks along a floating causeway onto the beach. The UK is understood to be considering tasking British troops with this when the aid corridor opens next month. Whitehall sources said no decision had been made and the issue had not yet crossed the prime minister's desk. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Israeli army declined to comment. Britain has been...

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated that it’s “not clear” that it’s even possible for Israel to have “a credible plan” for an invasion of Rafah that the White House would support. Sullivan said, “[W]e have made clear that our policy in Gaza will be determined by the steps Israel takes, both with respect to facilitating humanitarian assistance that can save lives, and with respect to civilian protection as it conducts its operations. We have also made clear our absolute deep and fundamental concern about a major military operation in...

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby stated that Hamas doesn’t care about the Palestinian people and if they did, “they’d lay down their arms, they’d step aside, they’d release those hostages,” but they’ve refused hostage release offers. Kirby also stated that there have been too many civilians killed in Gaza and the number of civilian casualties “needs to be zero.”

This is not a confirmed report, but it comes from a reputable source with contacts deep within the Hague. As Jews wake up to the reality that the Democrat party has broken its decades’ long implied promise to protect the Jews from another Holocaust, Joe Biden may be doubling down on an effort to placate the Hamas wing of the Democrat party. According to an Israeli reporter who has highly placed contacts at the Hague, the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) is planning to arrest senior Israeli officials, something it would do only if it had the Biden administration’s permission. Caroline...

On Saturday’s “CNN Newsroom,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) stated that none of the Israel aid in the package passed by the House earlier in the day “should be used for any offensive operations in Gaza until the hostages have [been] released, massive humanitarian aid flows into Gaza, and an understanding about what, if any, operations would be commenced with respect to Rafah.” Host Alex Marquardt asked, “[Y]ou’ve also been quite vocal about the war in Gaza, saying the death toll is way too high. In terms of this new aid for Israel, would you have wanted to see more conditions...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to announce sanctions against the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion in the next few days, according to three American sources. The sanctions are a result of human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank. This will be the first time that the United States government has imposed sanctions on an Israeli military unit for its activities in the West Bank. The sources stated that the American sanctions will prohibit the transfer of US military aid to the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, will prevent its soldiers and officers from taking part in training with...

Secretary of State Antony Blinken decline Friday to say whether U.S. was warned in advance about the Israeli overnight attack on Iran. "I'm not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations," Blinken said at a news conference during a gathering of G7 foreign ministers. "What we're focused on, what the G7 is focused on, and again, it's reflected in our statement, and in our conversation, is our work to de-escalate tensions, to de-escalate from any potential conflicts," Blinken added.

Earlier on Thursday, it was revealed that Joe Biden was trying to appease the Mullahs by negotiating a new nuclear deal. The outline would also guarantee Israel wouldn't carry out retaliatory strikes on Iran after the latter attacked the former with around 300 drones and missiles. The White House is weighing up a new Iran nuclear deal in return for lifting some economic sanctions on Tehran in order to avert a full-scale war in the region, a source close to Biden’s administration told @theipaper.“One view within the administration is that the president… pic.twitter.com/3e7ZTMQwVw— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) April 18, 2024RELATED:...

The US has approved a potential Israeli Rafah operation in exchange for the Jewish state not conducting counterstrikes on Iran, according to a Thursday report from the Qatari newspaper The New Arab. A senior official told The New Arab that "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu managed to obtain American approval for a military operation in Rafah, in exchange for [Israel] refraining from carrying out a wide military operation against Iran in response to its recent attack." He claimed that "discourse of an Israeli response to Iran contradicts the desires of the American administration, and is not realistic, given the Israeli claims...

On Wednesday’s broadcast of “CNN NewsNight,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated that she has “always questioned” whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “was capable of peace,” and that there needs to be an investigation beyond the one Israel is doing on the strike that killed World Central Kitchen workers in order for Israel to get more weapons. Pelosi said, “Netanyahu has to come around. He has not been a peace-oriented person. I’ve always questioned that for decades now as to whether he could — was capable of peace, wanted to do peace, or was afraid of peace. And I feel...

Joe Biden delivered a stern warning to Israeli leaders on Wednesday, “Don’t move on Haifa!” Haifa is the third largest city in ISRAEL! Potato brain has no idea what he’s talking about. The man is lost. JOE BIDEN: “I made it clear to the Israelis — don’t move on Haifa!”