‘We will fight with our fingernails’: Netanyahu says US threat won’t prevent Gaza offensive

Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US threat to withhold some arms would not prevent Israel from continuing its offensive in Gaza, indicating it might proceed with an invasion of the packed city of Rafah against the wishes of its closest ally.

President Joe Biden urged Israel not to go ahead with such an operation over fears it would exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in the Palestinian enclave. On Wednesday (Thursday AEST), he said the United States would not provide offensive weapons for a Rafah offensive, raising pressure on Netanyahu.

But in a statement released on Friday (AEST), Netanyahu said “if we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails.”

“I’ve known Joe Biden for many years, 40 years and more,” Netanyahu said in an interview on Dr Phil Primetime broadcast on Merit Street Media in the US. “We often had agreements, but we’ve had our disagreements and we’ve been able to overcome them. I hope we can overcome them now.”