Biden suspends bomb shipments to Israel over fears of Rafah invasion

Gazans evacuate Rafah as Israel strikes targets in the east Photo: Anadolu

Joe Biden last week suspended bomb deliveries to Israel fears it will invade the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Washington stopped the loading of 1,800 2,000-pound (907 kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound (226 kg) bombs after Israel did not » fully responsive.» US concerns over a major ground operation mean Biden has cut off military aid for the first time in the conflict.

News of the move comes as the White House criticized the «unacceptable» closure of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt after Israel sent tanks there earlier on Tuesday, while maintaining hopes of a ceasefire with Hamas.

Officials said the move was «particularly focused» on Washington's use of the heaviest 2,000-pound bombs «and the effect they could have in dense urban environments, as we have seen in other parts of Gaza.»

< p>Pause in Arms Marks Biden's first response to a warning he made in April to Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, that U.S. policy toward Gaza would depend on Israel's treatment of civilians.

The White House administration's decision on the weapons came as it emerged that Israel was on the brink of a major ground operation in Rafah, which Washington strongly opposes because more than a million people are sheltering there .

Israel and US officials have discussed alternatives, but «those discussions are ongoing and have not fully allayed our concerns,» a senior US official said on condition of anonymity.

As Israeli leaders appeared to be approaching the point of making a decision on such an operation, we began to carefully consider the proposed supply to Israel of specific weapons that could be used in Rafah. It started in April.”

A US official said Washington is «particularly focused» on the use of the heaviest 2,000-pound bombs «and the impact they can have in dense urban environments, as we have seen in other parts of Gaza.»

» We have not yet made a final decision on how to proceed with this supply,” the official said.

The US State Department is still considering other weapons transfers, including the use of precision bomb kits known as JDAMs, the official added.

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The White House previously said Israel had promised the military strike on Rafah earlier Tuesday was a «limited operation» rather than a frightening full-scale invasion.

Biden faces a tough re-election fight against Republican rival Donald Trump in November but has come under growing domestic pressure over his support for Israel. Mass protests at US universities led to police crackdowns and thousands of arrests.

< p>Republicans have also stepped up political pressure, and Mike Johnson, the U.S. House speaker who has repeatedly said the protests are anti-Semitic, on Tuesday criticized any move to limit military aid.

“When we thought it was only the chancellors universities are giving in to the absurd demands of Hamas supporters, the president himself has reportedly cut off munitions supplies to Israel,” Mr. Johnson told reporters ahead of the official US announcement. /p>

Mr Johnson said it «undermines» the huge aid package with military support for Israel and Ukraine that Congress passed after months of delays in April — although a US official said the delayed delivery was not related to the package.

However, Biden's move forces Israel to end the seven-month conflict and take additional measures to resolve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

“Closed checkpoints must be reopened and their closure cannot be tolerated,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing earlier Tuesday about Israel's takeover of the Rafah crossing.

Temporary Meanwhile, ceasefire talks resumed on Tuesday involving Israel, Hamas, the US, Qatar and Egypt.

“A careful assessment of the positions of the two sides suggests that they will be able to resolve the remaining differences, and we are going to do everything possible,” to support this process,” said John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council.

The war was sparked by a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 that killed more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an Israeli official tally published by AFP.

The Hamas-controlled territory's health ministry said Israel launched a retaliatory offensive that killed at least 34,789 people, mostly women and children, in Gaza.