IDF confirms it has 'necessary weapons for future missions, including in Rafah' amid tensions with US

The Israeli army announced on Thursday that it has the weapons required for a potential Rafah incursion, as well as other military operations.

"The IDF has the necessary weapons for future missions, including in Rafah," IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari stated during a briefing with media representatives.

Despite current political tensions between the Biden and Netanyahu administrations, Hagari praised the close military cooperation between the United States and Israel.

"So far, the United States has provided the State of Israel and the IDF with unprecedented security assistance during the war," Hagari said.

"Even when there are disagreements between us, we resolve them behind closed doors," he added.

The IDF announcement comes after the Biden administration confirmed on Tuesday evening that it would withhold a large shipment of bombs from being sent to its intended destination in Israel over concerns that Israel could potentially use the bombs in "dense urban settings" in southern Gaza.

The White House has underscored its opposition to an Israeli military operation against Hamas forces in Rafah where over one million Gaza civilians are currently concentrated.

“I’ve made it clear to Bibi and the War Cabinet, they’re not going to get our support if, in fact, they go into these population centers,” U.S. President Joe Biden stated.

“We’re not walking away from Israel’s security; we’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas,” he added, referring to Rafah.

According to the IDF, the bulk of Hamas forces are concentrated in Rafah close to the Egyptian border in Rafah, the terror group's last main stronghold in Gaza.

Speaking at a memorial ceremony for Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pledged that Israel has no alternative but to fight for its existence amid multiple threats.

"We have no choice, we have no other country. We will do whatever is necessary, and I repeat - whatever is necessary, in order to defend the citizens of Israel, to remove the evil threats against us, and to stand up to those who attempt to destroy us," Gallant said during his speech.

"I turn to Israel’s enemies, as well as to our best of friends, and say - the State of Israel cannot be subdued, not the IDF, not the defense establishment, and not the State of Israel. We will stand strong, we will achieve our goals - we will hit Hamas, we will hit Hezbollah, and we will achieve security," Gallant pledged.

While Biden officially calls himself a Zionist, critics in Israel and the United States argue that his latest policies are in practice supporting the survival of the terrorist organization Hamas by preventing Israel from completing its military operations in Gaza.

Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers have criticized Biden for his administration’s threats against an Israeli Rafah operation.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman blasted the president, arguing that “Biden is siding with Hamas over Israel.”

“Let’s be brutally clear here. Israel cannot defeat Hamas without entering Rafah, where Hamas maintains four fully functioning battalions,” Friedman wrote.