The Biden administration is sending a message to Israel by withholding some weapons and shipments because of the country’s planned invasion of Rafah.
The interview marked Biden’s toughest public comments yet about the potential Israeli military operation as opposition swells at home.— the last major Hamas stronghold in Gaza — over concern for the well-being of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there.
The shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, according to a senior U.S. administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. The focus of U.S. concern was the larger explosives and how they could be used in a dense urban area.
“We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself,” Austin said. “But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah.”have violated international and U.S. laws designed to spare civilians from the worst horrors of war. A decision against Israel would further add to Biden signed off on the pause in an order conveyed last week to the Pentagon, according to U.S.
Biden has faced pressure from some on the left — and condemnation from the critics on the right who say Biden has moderated his support for an essential Mideast ally.over hush money payments, criticized Biden as well, saying Thursday that “What Biden is doing with respect to Israel is disgraceful.” The presumptive GOP presidential nominee added, “If any Jewish person voted for Joe Biden, they should be ashamed of themselves. He’s totally abandoned Israel.
"A small diameter bomb, which is a precision weapon, that’s very useful in a dense, built-up environment,” he said, “but maybe not so much a 2,000-pound bomb that could create a lot of collateral damage.” He said the U.S. wants to see Israel do “more precise” operations.that stopped short of the full-on Israeli invasion of the city that Biden has repeatedly warned against, most recently in a Monday call with Netanyahu.
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