TEL AVIV — Israel is recalibrating the next steps of its war against Hamas following warnings by President Biden that the United States will cut off offensive weapons shipments if the Israeli military advances into Rafah, the southern Gazan city that is harboring more than 1 million Palestinians.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to respond to Biden’s unprecedented policy shift. But Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu, said that “the surprise” of the warning has caught Israel off guard and will compel the war cabinet to reconsider whether and how it will enter Rafah — “if it will bear the consequence of going in without American support, or if it will stop the operation, which will allow Hamas to be unharmed in the area.”