US paused weapons shipment to Israel over Rafah invasion concern

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The US paused a shipment of bombs to Israel over worries about Israel nearing a decision to launch a wide-ranging military offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which President Joe Biden opposes, according to a senior administration official.

The delivery was supposed to contain 3,500 bombs, split roughly evenly between 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) and 500-pound explosives, the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said.

The official added the administration is worried about the damage the larger bombs could inflict on dense urban settings like Rafah, where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. The US has not made a final decision about how to proceed with the shipment, according to the official.

The decision, reported earlier by the Associated Press, marks one of the most prominent instances of discord between the US and Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault that killed 1,200 people and saw roughly 250 more taken hostage by the group, designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union. The US has long been Israel’s largest and most reliable military backer, but Biden has called on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to protect civilians in Gaza.

Biden told Netanyahu last month, following the killing of aid workers in an Israeli strike, that ongoing US support for the war would depend on new steps to protect civilians.

The US president in April signed a foreign aid package that contained fresh assistance for Israel, but the paused bomb shipment was not connected to those funds, according to the administration official. Arms transfers that are under review were drawn from previously appropriated money and the administration is committed to ensuring Israel gets every dollar of the new national security aid, the official said.

The Biden administration in April began reviewing future transfers of certain armaments as Israeli leaders seemed to close in on a decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Rafah, despite repeated warnings from the US. Discussions between American and Israeli officials over Rafah plans are continuing and have yet to fully address the administration’s concerns, the official said.

“Two things can be true at once,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier Tuesday, without addressing the weapons-transfer pause. “Israel has a right and a responsibility to defend itself, and we’re going to continue to provide for their security and help them with that. And at the same time, they have a right and obligation to be careful about civilian casualties and getting more humanitarian assistance in.”

Israel’s military moved to take control of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt and ordered some civilians to leave the city so that an attack can get underway. That came after Hamas said it accepted a cease-fire proposal, but Israel rejected it, saying it fell far short of meeting their demands.

While the White House has repeatedly expressed opposition to a Rafah incursion, officials have not indicated publicly that Israel’s current operations in the area have violated Biden’s warnings against a full-scale invasion of the city. White House spokesman John Kirby earlier Tuesday described the existing operation as “limited” and intended to cut off Hamas’s ability to smuggle weapons and money into Gaza.

Israel says reopening Kerem Shalom aid crossing into Gaza

Israel was reopening Kerem Shalom crossing on its border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a statement from the Israeli agency in charge of it said, adding that aid trucks routed through from Egypt were already undergoing security inspections there.

Israel had closed Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday after a Palestinian shelling attack nearby killed four soldiers.Israel was reopening Kerem Shalom crossing on its border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a statement from the Israeli agency in charge of it said, adding that aid trucks routed through from Egypt were already undergoing security inspections there.

Israel had closed Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday after a Palestinian shelling attack nearby killed four soldiers.

With inputs from Reuters

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow