Netanyahu vows to continue attacks in Gaza despite Biden's threat to halt weapon shipment

JERUSALEM, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement on Thursday that the Israeli forces will continue their attacks in Gaza despite the U.S. threat to halt some weapon shipments.

"If Israel is forced to stand alone -- Israel will stand alone," said Netanyahu in a public speech made on Sunday's Israeli Holocaust Memorial Day and posted on his official X account on Thursday.

The Israeli prime minister added that "no amount of pressure" will stop Israel from "defending itself."

During a CNN interview on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said that he would halt some shipments of U.S. weapons to Israel if Netanyahu launches a major invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip where more than 1 million Palestinians are taking refuge.

"We're not walking away from Israel's security. We're walking away from Israel's ability to wage war in those areas," said Biden.

The U.S. president admitted that Israel used U.S. bombs on civilians in Gaza. "Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers," said Biden.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that the U.S. had already paused "one shipment of high payload munitions" to Israel.

The United States has sent hundreds of shipments of weapons to Israel since the ongoing conflict broke up on Oct. 7, 2023, according to reports from U.S. news outlets.