'With God's help, we will win'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared Thursday to defy President Joe Biden's warning that the U.S. would impose a sweeping arms embargo against the Jewish state if the IDF carries out its planned ground operation in Rafah.

In a statement released May 9, the Israeli premier vowed that Israel would "stand alone" if necessary in its current war against the Hamas terror organization, alluding to the Biden administration's suspension of weapons sales to Israel and threat May 8 of a full blown embargo.

"If we need to stand alone, we will stand alone," Netanyahu said.

"I have said that if necessary - we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails and with that same strength of spirit, with God's help, together we will win."

Netanyahu referenced the arms embargo imposed on Israel during the 1948-1949 Israeli War of Independence, emphasizing that Israel's first war was won without the benefit of American weapon transfers.

"We are on the eve of Independence Day. In the War of Independence 76 years ago, we were the few against the many. We did not have weapons."

"There was an arms embargo on Israel, but with great strength of spirit, heroism and unity among us - we were victorious.

"Today we are much stronger. We are determined and we are united in order to defeat our enemies and those who want to destroy us."

In 1948, the Truman administration imposed a blanket embargo on weapons sales to both sides in the first Israel-Arab war.

While the Arab Legion was trained and armed by the British Empire, the nascent Israeli army relied on a mix of weapons smuggled into the Palestinian Mandate or manufactured in hidden assembly facilities prior to Britain's departure in May 1948, and arms acquired during sporadic purchases from Czechoslovakia.