The US announced that it had paused a bomb shipment for Israel last week amid concerns over its potential use in the Rafah invasion.
According to BBC, the shipment held back included 1,800 bombs of 2,000 pounds and 1,700 bombs weighing 500 pounds.
The White House administration official confirmed, “We paused one shipment of weapons last week. It consists of 1,800 2,000lb bombs and 1,700 500lb bombs. We are especially focused on the end-use of the 2,000-lb bombs and the impact they could have in dense urban settings as we have seen in other parts of Gaza.”
The official noted, “The US position has been that Israel should not launch a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering with nowhere else to go.”
The senior official further added, “We have been engaging in a dialogue with Israel in our Strategic Consultative Group format on how they will meet the humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah and how to operate differently against Hamas there than they have elsewhere in Gaza.”
The unnamed official, while highlighting the reason behind the decision, said, “Those discussions are ongoing and have not fully addressed our concerns. As Israeli leaders seemed to approach a decision point on such an operation, we began to carefully review proposed transfers of particular weapons to Israel that might be used in Rafah. “
As per the official, the final ‘determination on how to proceed with the shipment’ is yet to be made.
