[앵커]
US President Joe Biden sent a strong warning message to Israel, which insists on engaging in ground fighting in Rafah.
Israel has stated that it will not supply weapons if it attacks Rafah, but attention is given to see if there will be a change in Israel’s position due to the strong opposition from the United States.
This is reporter Kim Gae-hyung’s report.
[리포트]
Israeli soldiers with tanks took control of the Rafah checkpoint, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip.
The evacuation order to leave Rafah is a sign that the ground battle of the Israeli army in Rafah is imminent.
Being a densely populated area with more than 1.4 million civilians, including residents and refugees, large-scale casualties are inevitable in the event of a ground battle.
US President Joe Biden, who is facing pressure to criticize his pro-Israeli policies ahead of the upcoming presidential election in November, announced that he would suspend arms support if Israel attacked Rafah.
[조 바이든/미국 대통령 : “만약 그들(이스라엘)이 라파로 진격한다면, 나는 지금까지 라파와 다른 도시들을 다루는 데에 사용했던 무기를 지원하지 않겠다(는 걸 분명히 했습니다).”]
The US government previously made clear its opposition to the Rafah ground battle and stopped the shipment of one high explosive bomb that was supposed to be provided to Israel.
President Biden, however, said he intends to continue supporting defense weapons, including maintaining the Iron Dome air defense weapon system, in order to defend Israel.
Analysis that President Biden’s comments and the temporary suspension of arms shipments to Israel have created variables in Israel’s ground war policy in Rafah.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization announced that only three days’ worth of fuel needed to operate hospital facilities in the southern Gaza Strip remained due to the inflow of relief supplies being halted due to the Israeli army’s occupation Rafah checkpoint.
This is Kim Gae-hyung from KBS News.
Video Editing: Kim Eun-joo / Data Research: Seo Ho-jeong
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