Kirby also sought to allay concerns that the United States was breaking with its closest ally in the Middle East.
“The argument that we are somehow moving away from Israel flies in the face of the facts,” Kirby said Thursday, citing Biden’s visit to Israel in the days after the Oct. 7 attack, providing money and military expertise to their war and put American fighter pilots in the sky to shoot down Iranian drones.
He said the United States believes Israel has “put enormous pressure on Hamas, and that there are better ways to go after what remains of Hamas in Rafah than a major ground operation.”
Kirby said the United States was still working with Israel to help it defeat Hamas, such as ensuring the Gaza-Egypt border cannot be used to smuggle weapons and attack Hamas leaders.
He also noted that while the United States has temporarily halted the transfer of bombs, Israel “still receives the vast, vast majority of everything it needs to defend itself,” and that a recent funding package passed by Congress will continue to send billions of dollars. to Israel.
Biden’s decision to suspend certain weapons shipments to Israel underscored growing frustrations between Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
Netanyahu has said Israel would press ahead with its invasion of Rafah even without global support. In the past week, Israeli forces have carried out a series of targeted strikes in Rafah and shown other signs of a major ground invasion, including the evacuation of more than 100,000 people.
On Thursday, the Israeli leader said: “If we need to be alone, we will be alone. I have said that, if necessary, we will fight with our nails. But we have much more than nails and with that same strength of spirit, with the help of God, together we will win.”