The United States halted shipments of bombs to Israel last week, which failed to allay Washington’s concerns about the incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior US official said on Tuesday.
“Last week, we intercepted one weapons shipment,” the official said, explaining that the shipment included 1,800 bombs weighing 907 kilograms each and 1,700 bombs weighing 226 kilograms each. “We have not fully decided what to do with this shipment,” the official added.
US President Joe Biden’s administration made the decision amid revelations that Israel was preparing to launch a major ground operation in Rafah, which Washington strongly opposes.
Israeli and US officials discussed alternatives, but “those discussions are ongoing and have not fully resolved our concerns,” the US official said.
“As Israeli leaders appeared to be getting closer to deciding on such an operation, we began looking closely at the transfer of specific weapons to Israel that could be used in Rafah. That began in April,” the official explained.
The official said Washington paid particular attention to the use of heavier bombs and the impact they could have in dense urban environments. The US State Department is also evaluating the transfer of other weapons to Israel, including the delivery of JDAM bombs, the official added.
Israel sent tanks to Rafah and seized a border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, but the White House said earlier that Israel had promised a “limited operation”.
