US Halts Arms Delivery to Israel Due to Rafah Offensive

(Patria) - US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed yesterday that the decision by US President Joseph Biden to suspend the delivery of ammunition to Israel was made due to Israeli plans to carry out an offensive on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

- We have been very clear from the beginning that Israel should not launch a major offensive on Rafah without considering the protection of civilians in the area.

After reassessing the situation, we have paused the shipment of munitions to Israel - Austin said at a Senate hearing, adding that a final decision has not yet been made "on what will happen with that shipment," Reuters reports.

The US administration last week halted a shipment of about 3,500 bombs to Israel due to concerns over the announced ground offensive in Rafah, the Associated Press reported yesterday, citing an unnamed administration official.

This official clarified that a final decision on the delivery of the bombs has not been made and that the halted shipment included 1,800 bombs weighing 900 kilograms each and 1,700 weighing 226 kilograms each.

The Israeli war cabinet decided on Monday to carry out the planned operation in Rafah to "exert military pressure on Hamas," despite Hamas's earlier announcement that it agreed to the Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal.