The White House halted an arms shipment to Israel last week as Israeli leaders moved closer to a decision to launch an operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior Israel official said on Tuesday. administration
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed in congressional testimony on Wednesday that “we paused a shipment of large payload munitions.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced on Tuesday the launch of “targeted strikes“against Hamas a Rafahwhich Israel has said is the last stronghold of Hamas, after Israel's war cabinet approved a military operation in the city.
The US has long argued that Israel should not launch such a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million people are taking refuge after fleeing other parts of Gaza. But U.S. concerns in talks with Israel about addressing humanitarian needs in Rafah and how to address Hamas have not been sufficiently addressed, the senior administration official said. As Israeli leaders appeared close to a decision on Rafah, the Biden administration began reviewing upcoming transfers of weapons that could be used in Rafah, halting a shipment last week as a result. said the official.
That halted shipment contains 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, the former of which the Biden administration was particularly concerned could cause serious damage in urban areas, the official said. The senior administration official said the US has not yet decided how to proceed with this particular shipment.
News of the weapons pause comes days after the administration played down the possibility that it would delay a shipment.
Israeli tanks on Tuesday took control from the Gaza side of the Rafah border near Egypt as Israel's operation continues. This means that both of Gaza's key aid corridors are closed.
The senior administration official said the halted shipment has nothing to do with the funding for Israel Congress approved last month.
Israel has long threatened a ground assault on Rafah and has confirmed the start of Operation Rafah after saying Israel a ceasefire proposal that Hamas accepted is “far from satisfying Israel's basic demands”.
Ceasefire talks continue in the Middle East and the CIA director Bill Burns is in Israel on Wednesday for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The U.S. decision to halt the arms shipment, and the willingness of a senior administration official to share the reasoning behind the pause, point to the Biden administration's growing concern about how the actions of 'Israel is harming Palestinian civilians.
