A US official said on Tuesday that Washington last week Israel The supply of bombs was stopped in view of the fear that they Gaza will attack the southern city of Rafah.
Thus, it is the first time since the start of the Israeli offensive on Gaza that President Joe Biden has stopped providing military aid to his main American ally.
According to AFP, a senior US administration official said Washington stopped the delivery of 1,800, 2,000-pound (907 kg) bombs and 1,700, 500-pound (226 kg) bombs after Israel (in Rafah) launched a Did not ‘completely allay’ US concerns about major ground action.
The news came as Israel deployed tanks to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, calling the closure ‘unacceptable’. United States He expressed his displeasure.
By stopping the supply of arms Joe Biden has followed through on that warning, when he warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in April that US policy would depend on how Israel treats civilians in Gaza.
The senior US official said the Biden administration made the weapons decision at a time when it learned Israel was preparing a major ground operation in Rafah, which Washington has strongly opposed because More than 1 million people have taken refuge there.
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The senior US official said on condition of anonymity that Israeli and US officials were discussing alternative (measures) but “those discussions are ongoing and our concerns have not been fully resolved.”
He added: ‘As Israeli leaders were coming to a decision about such an operation, we began to carefully review the proposed transfer to Israel of certain weapons that could be used in Rafah. It (the review) started in April.’
According to the US official, Washington is focused “in particular” on the use of the heaviest 2,000-pound bombs and their “impact on densely populated urban areas, as we have seen in other areas of Gaza.”
The official said: ‘We have not taken a final decision on how to proceed with this (arms) shipment.’
He added that the US State Department is still reviewing other weapons transfers, including the use of bomb kits known as JDAMs.
The White House had previously said that Israel had promised military action in Rafah on Tuesday and that it would have been a ‘limited operation’, not a full-scale attack.
Joe Biden, who faces a November re-election battle against Republican rival Donald Trump, has faced pressure in the US over his support for Israel, and massive pro-Gaza protests at US universities have resulted in police crackdowns and thousands of arrests. have happened
“The crossings that have been closed need to be reopened, their closure is unacceptable,” White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre said in a briefing on the Israeli occupation of the Rafah crossing earlier on Tuesday. ‘
On the other hand, negotiations between Israel, Hamas, the United States, Qatar and Egypt regarding the ceasefire resumed on Tuesday.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, said: ‘A close review of both sides’ positions suggests that they should be able to close the remaining gaps and we are going to do everything we can to support that process. .’
According to Israeli official figures, a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 resulted in over 1,170 deaths, most of them civilians.
After which Israel retaliated Ground and air strikes on Gaza According to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-run region, more than 34,000 people died in these operations, most of them women and children.
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2024-07-25 04:32:34