Is Israel really capable of continuing its offensive on Gaza “alone”?

Joe Biden threatened to suspend the delivery of certain weapons to Israel, after IDF incursions east of Rafah. In response, Benjamin Netanyahu assured that he would continue to fight “alone”, without help from the United States.

“If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. I have already said it, if necessary, we will fight with our nails,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Thursday, May 9, in a press release. A statement in response to the most severe warning from the United States since the start of the conflict: American President Joe Biden threatened for the first time to suspend the delivery of certain weapons to Israel, of which Washington is the main military supporter. In question, the military operation in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip. “If they enter Rafah, I will not deliver to them the weapons that have always been used (…) against cities,” declared the tenant of the White House in an interview with the CNN channel broadcast on Wednesday, May 8 . Last week, the United States had already suspended the delivery to Israel of “1,800 2,000-pound (907 kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound (226 kg) bombs”, a suspension confirmed this Thursday by a senior American official.

But does the Jewish state have the capacity to continue its offensive on Gaza and Rafah “alone”? The IDF claims to have the weapons necessary to carry out its objective on the Gaza Strip, including Rafah. The army “has sufficient weapons to accomplish its mission in Rafah,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, army spokesperson, assured Thursday. Already on May 2, Benjamin Netanyahu had estimated that the Jews must be able to “defend themselves” because “no one will protect (them”).

Within the Israeli government, voices are being raised to support Benjamin Netanyahu’s position. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, placed on the far right of the political spectrum and in favor of an offensive on Rafah, assured that his country “will achieve total victory in this war despite the retreat of President Biden and the arms embargo. Same story for the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant. “I address Israel’s enemies as well as our best friends: the State of Israel cannot be subjugated, neither can the armed forces and the defense apparatus,” he declared, during a speech at a ceremony on Thursday, May 9. He added: “We will remain firm, we will achieve our goals: we will hit Hamas, we will hit Hezbollah and we will achieve security.”

Despite the threat from the United States, Israel continued its offensive and its strikes on Rafah. Since May 7, the IDF has deployed tanks into Rafah, home to 1.4 million Palestinians, and taken control of the border crossing with Egypt, where the main gateway for aid convoys was. humanitarian. The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, “expressed the support of the United States for the reopening of the Rafah crossing point and the continuation of the delivery of humanitarian aid which is urgent” through the voice of his spokesperson. But for Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, the threat and Joe Biden’s position are “difficult to hear and very disappointing.”