US has not changed its policy towards Israel after the Rafah refugee camp raid
The White House said President Biden has no intention of changing policy toward Israel following its May 26 airstrike on a refugee camp in Rafah.
Gaza's health authority said 45 people were killed when flames engulfed a refugee camp in Rafah following an Israeli attack over the weekend. However, Washington does not believe the move is a full-scale military operation that could violate President Joe Biden's "red line," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on May 28.
"After the May 26 raid, there wasn't any policy change that I have to mention. It just happened, Israel will investigate," he said. But Kirby added that the administration is "not turning a blind eye" to the question of "how many charred corpses" it takes for President Biden to change course on the issue.
The White House boss earlier said he would not support Israel launching a major military operation in Rafah, where one million civilians are being evacuated. Earlier this month, Washington halted deliveries of heavy bombs to Tel Aviv over fears they could be used to strike the southern Gaza city.
Witnesses said Israeli tanks appeared in central Rafah on May 28 after heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas in recent weeks. When questioned too many times, Kirby insisted the president had not changed how he defined a major Israeli military operation against Rafah.
"We have not seen them rush at Rafah," he declared. "We have not seen them advance with large units, large numbers of troops, in formations against many targets on the ground." The US Department of Defense also said that Israel's attack on Rafah was "of limited scope". Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said authorities were waiting for the Israeli military to conclude its investigation into the refugee camp raid before commenting further.
We're certainly very concerned about what happened over the weekend. We've all seen those pictures. They're really terrible," she said. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller meanwhile said the preliminary investigation from Israel showed the attack was carried out using "the smallest bomb in its arsenal."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident "a tragic mistake." The Israeli military said on May 28 that the shells it launched could not have caused the deadly fire, adding that it carried out the attack to kill two senior Hamas commanders.
NATO secretary-general insists Ukraine 'neutralizes' Russian military facility, French president backs, Moscow says
On May 28, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg renewed his call for the lifting of restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western weapons to strike military targets on Russian territory.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. (Source: NATO) Speaking on the sidelines of the European Union defence ministers' meeting in Brussels, Stoltenberg said: "In Kharkiv Oblast, it will be very difficult for Ukraine to defend itself if it cannot attack artillery positions or airfields on the other side of the border."
Russia Wants Deputy Chief of General Staff of Ukraine, Hungary Reacts Sharply to Both EU and NATO Ukraine's Ukrinform news agency quoted NATO heads and defense ministers of eastern European countries in the alliance as saying there was no significant risk of escalation if Kiev was allowed to lift restrictions.
According to Stoltenberg, some NATO members have provided weapons without restrictions and once delivered, they become Ukrainian property.
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur concurred with NATO officials, stressing that fears of escalation over the supply of tanks, fighter jets and cruise missiles from France and Britain had not materialized in the past. With these arguments in mind, NATO is pushing for the lifting of restrictions aimed at bolstering Kiev's ability to defend itself in its ongoing conflict with Russia.
Earlier on May 27, Stoltenberg made a similar call at the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and in an interview with the Economist. In this regard, AFP news agency on the same day quoted French President Emmanuel Macron as saying that Kiev should be allowed to "neutralize" Moscow's military bases from which Russian troops launch missiles into Ukraine. However, the French leader noted: "We should not allow Ukraine to 'touch' other targets in Russia that are obviously opportunities
In response to the move from NATO, on May 27, RT reported, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded. Peskov stressed that Moscow considers Stoltenberg's remarks to be the official position of the entire military bloc and that Russia will respond accordingly.
