IN MARCH, AS Israel threatened to invade Rafah in southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had been sheltering, President Joe Biden acknowledged that if Israel invaded the city, it would be crossing “a red line.”

It was Biden’s first public acknowledgement that any “red line,” limits, or conditions existed for U.S. support for Israel. In May, Biden followed up by halting the transfer of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs to Israel in an effort to limit civilian casualties in Rafah.

In July, however, the U.S. resumed shipments of 500-pound bombs. The following month, the Biden administration approved a $20 billion weapons sales deal to Israel for the coming years, which is currently being held up in Congress due to a resolution from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. In September, the Biden administration approved a separate $8.7 billion arms package.