WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's
administration paused a shipment of weapons to Israel last week
in opposition to apparent moves by the Israelis to invade the
southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior administration official
said on Tuesday.
Biden has been trying to head off a full-scale assault by
the Israelis against Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of
Palestinian have sought refuge from combat elsewhere in Gaza.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that
as Israelis leaders seemed to approach a decision on a Rafah
incursion, "we began to carefully review proposed transfers of
particular weapons to Israel that might be used in Rafah"
beginning in April.
"As a result of that review, we have paused one shipment of
weapons last week. It consists of 1,800 2,000-lb bombs and 1,700
500-lb bombs," the official said.
"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. We have not made a final
determination on how to proceed with this shipment," the
official said.
Four sources said the shipments, which have been delayed for
at least two weeks, involved Boeing ( BA )-made Joint Direct Attack
Munitions, which convert dumb bombs into precision-guided ones,
as well as Small Diameter Bombs.
The delay comes at a time when Washington is publicly
pressuring Israel to postpone its planned offensive in Rafah
until after it has taken steps to avert civilian casualties.
The White House and Pentagon declined comment.
Israeli forces on Tuesday seized the main border crossing
between Gaza and Egypt in Rafah, cutting off a vital route for
aid into the tiny enclave.
Without addressing whether there had been a holdup in arms
shipments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
reaffirmed that Washington's commitment to Israel's security was
"ironclad."
Still, when asked about the reports on the arms holdsups,
she added: "Two things could be true, in the sense of having
those conversations, tough, direct conversations with our
counterparts in Israel ... in making sure citizens lives are
protected ... and getting that commitment."
The Pentagon said on Monday that there had not been a policy
decision to withhold arms from Israel, America's closest Middle
East ally.
Still, the delays appeared to be the first since Biden's
administration offered its full support to Israel following
Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, which killed about 1,200 people with about
250 others abducted, of whom 133 are believed to remain in
captivity in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's campaign to destroy Hamas has led to a
seven-month-long military campaign that has killed a total of
34,789 Palestinians, most of them civilians, the Gaza Health
Ministry said.
The conflict has also left many of Gaza's 2.3 million people
on the brink of starvation and sparked protests in the U.S.
demanding that universities and Biden withdraw support for
Israel - including the provision of weaponry.
A senior Israeli official, speaking to Reuters on condition
of anonymity, did not confirm any specific hold-up in arms
supplies but appeared to take the reports in stride: "As the
prime minister has already said, if we have to fight with our
fingernails, then we'll do what we have to do."