Biden’s administration has suspended arms shipments to prevent a large-scale attack on Rafah, an official says.
A senior administration official said U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration suspended an arms shipment to Israel last week to oppose apparent Israeli moves to invade the southern Gaza town of Rafah.
Biden has sought to prevent a major Israeli attack on Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere in Gaza.
The AFP, Associated Press and Reuters news agencies reported on Tuesday that unnamed US officials said the US began “carefully considering planned transfers to Israel of certain weapons that could be used in Rafah” in April, as it appeared had that Israel was close to making a decision on the attack.
“As a result of this review, we stopped an arms shipment last week. It consists of 1,800 900 kg bombs and 1,700 225 kg bombs,” the official said.
“We are particularly focused on the end use of the 2,000-pound bombs and the impact they could have in densely populated urban areas, as we have seen in other parts of the Gaza Strip.” “We have not yet made a final decision on whether how to deal with this delivery,” the official was quoted as saying. News outlets said he spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject.
Reuters reported that four sources said the shipments, delayed by at least two weeks, included Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), which attach precision guidance systems to bombs, as well as small-diameter bombs.
Citing unnamed officials, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier Tuesday that the U.S. had delayed delivery of around 6,500 JDAMs.
The delay comes as Washington is publicly pressuring Israel to postpone its planned offensive in Rafah until it takes steps to prevent civilian casualties.
The White House and the Pentagon declined to comment on the delivery delays.
Deprive Israel of weapons
According to the White House, Biden had a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and emphasized U.S. opposition to a ground offensive in Rafah.
But in the early hours of Tuesday, just hours after Hamas, Gaza’s government, said it had accepted a ceasefire proposal put forward by international mediators, Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah crossing.
Without commenting on whether there had been a standstill in arms deliveries, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security was “ironclad.”
Still, when asked about the reports of the weapons delays, she added: “Two things could be true, in the sense that we are having these conversations, tough, direct conversations with our counterparts in Israel… to make sure that citizens’ lives are protected “will…and get” this commitment.”
The Pentagon said Monday that there had been no political decision to withhold weapons from Israel, the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East.
The Rafah border crossing is crucial both for providing assistance and as an escape route for those able to flee to Egypt. About 1.4 million Palestinians, including more than 600,000 children, live in the southern city, and the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and international humanitarian organizations have warned that an attack would be catastrophic.
Israel’s war on Gaza has pushed many of Gaza’s 2.3 million people to the brink of starvation and led to protests in the United States and other countries demanding that universities and Biden withdraw support for Israel – including funding of weapons.
A senior Israeli official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, did not confirm any specific delay in arms deliveries, but appeared to shrug it off: “As the prime minister has said, if we have to fight with our fingernails, then.” We’ll do what we have to do.”