BUSINESS INSIDER
Early on Tuesday, Israeli tanks seized control of the vital Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
It came after the Israeli military launched a series of overnight strikes on the city as international mediators attempted to hash out a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The attacks took place just hours after President Joe Biden had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to invade Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the war elsewhere in Gaza had made temporary homes.
But throughout its eight-month war, Israel has shown that it is willing to reject and ignore the advice of its most important international ally, the US.
That is despite Israel being the world’s biggest recipient of US military aid. According to the reports, Washington gives it around $3.8 billion worth of weapons and defense systems each year.
“We’re having this conversation about how horrible it would be for US credibility and US leadership if we fail to support Ukraine,” Matt Duss, the executive vice president of the Center for International Policy, told Time in March.
“The same applies here. Our inability to exert any meaningful influence on Israel—a state that is hugely reliant on US support—is also enormously damaging.”
A snub to Biden
The Israeli escalation came after hopes were raised of a cease-fire when Hamas said it accepted a deal to halt the conflict proposed by Qatar and Egypt.
John Kirby, the White House spokesman, said on Sunday that Biden told Netanyahu the US would “not support ground operations in Rafah” unless it shows how it plans to protect the lives of civilians.
