By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
The Biden-Harris administration says the deadly attack on a Palestinian camp did not cross the line set by President Joe Biden.
On May 28, during a press briefing, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that “Israel has a right to go after Hamas.”
“We understand that this strike did kill two senior Hamas terrorists who are directly responsible for the attacks against the Israeli people,” said Kirby. “But, as we’ve said many times, Israel must take every precaution possible to do more to protect innocent life.”
Kirby’s comments come after Israel launched a deadly strike on a Palestinian camp in Rafah on May 26, killing more than 45 people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack a “tragic mishap.”
Netanyahu added, “We are investigating the incident and will obtain a conclusion because this is our policy.”
Following the attack, members of Congress and human rights groups blasted Netanyahu and condemned the deadly offensive.
“Netanyahu and his right-wing government must stop the strikes in Rafah immediately,” U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, (D-Calif.) told the AFRO. “I condemn the horrific bombing of a refugee camp and the killing of innocent civilians.”
The California lawmaker added, “1.4 million people in Rafah are refugees and have nowhere else to go.”
Ahmed Benchemsi, advocacy and communications director for the Human Rights Watch, told the AFRO
that the Biden-Harris administration needs to do more to hold Israel accountable.
“Pressure on Israel from the United State does work,” Benchemsi told the AFRO. “Unfortunately, there has been too little and too late of that, but it’s still time to impose other measures and to stop selling weapons to Israel.”
This latest attack comes months after Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing at least 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 250 others. As a result, Israel has retaliated and launched numerous attacks in Gaza for months, resulting in the deaths of more than 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that it was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Diab Ibrahim al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh. Karim Khan, the court’s top prosecutor, has accused Israeli and Hamas leaders of committing war crimes since the conflict began last fall.
Khanna said the only way to prevent further bloodshed in Gaza is for members of Congress and the Biden-Harris administration to stop sending “offensive weapons” to Israel “if these attacks continue.”
In recent months, the Biden-Harris administration has sent various military aid packages to support Israel in its fight against Hamas.