The United States paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week due to fears of an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The shipment included 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs. President Joe Biden squeezed military aid to Israel for the first time in the conflict after Israel failed to address US concerns about a ground operation in Rafah.
The White House condemned the closure of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt by Israel. Biden had warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in April that US policy on Gaza would be based on how Israel treated civilians. The US made the decision to pause weapons transfers as Israel appeared close to a major ground operation in Rafah, which the US strongly opposed due to the civilian population there.
The US is focused specifically on the use of 2,000-pound bombs in dense urban areas like Gaza. The State Department is still reviewing other weapons transfers, including precision bomb kits known as JDAMs. Biden’s move increases pressure on Israel to end the conflict and address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Ceasefire talks involving several countries, including the US and Egypt, have resumed.
The conflict began with a Hamas attack in October, resulting in over 1,170 deaths, mostly civilians. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,789 people in Gaza, mostly women and children. The White House continues to call for the reopening of closed crossings in Gaza, labeling their closure as unacceptable.
