Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, slammed President Joe Biden's threat to withhold weapons and artillery shells from Israel if the country invades the city of Rafah as "abhorrent" in an interview with Newsmax on Thursday.
Biden said on Wednesday that the U.S. would not provide Israel with "artillery shells" or other munitions to Israel if the country's military begins a ground offensive in Rafah, a city located in the south of Gaza that currently holds about 1 million people, many of whom fled there for safety.
"Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they [Israel] go after population centers," Biden said on CNN.
Ernst told "National Report" that Biden's ultimatum was "abhorrent" and "a blow to our friend and ally Israel."
She added, "We see this decision by President Biden as emboldening Hamas and appeasing Iran, certainly going against what the United States Congress stated it wanted with the passage of the supplemental package just over a month ago."
Ernst also noted that Biden "did not notify" Congress about this decision, which prompted her and Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., to submit a list of "questions to the administration about the munitions that were being withheld, but we have not heard back."
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