Tlaib says Rafah invasion directly connected to US military aid approval

Rep. Rashida Tlaib said Tuesday the Israeli government’s decision to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah was directly connected to American lawmakers’ recent approval of billions of dollars in additional military aid.

Tlaib was among 37 House Democrats who voted against the foreign aid package that included military assistance for Israel, which has repeatedly used U.S. weaponry to commit atrocities in Gaza. 

President Joe Biden signed the package into law late last month.

Last week, Tlaib joined 56 fellow House Democrats in urging the Biden administration to suspend deliveries of offensive weapons that could be used in an Israeli assault on Rafah.

Rafah is currently home to more than half of Gaza’s population — including around 600,000 children.

Israeli forces, including ground troops and tanks, have seized control of the Gaza side of Rafah’s border crossing with Egypt.

They have also halted the delivery of critical humanitarian aid as the enclave’s population continues to starve.

A day earlier, Israel’s military ordered more than 100,000 people in eastern Rafah to evacuate, a directive aid organizations and experts condemned as a grave violation of international law.

Tlaib said Tuesday “there is nowhere safe in Gaza” for displaced people to go. Nearly 80% of the civilian infrastructure has been destroyed. 

Tlaib demanded the International Criminal Court issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials to hold them accountable for genocide.