International Desk, Bangladesh Global: US 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 has said.
Biden has been trying to head off a full-scale assault by the Israelis against Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere in Gaza.
The AFP, Associated Press and Reuters news agencies on Tuesday reported unnamed United States officials saying that the US began to “carefully review proposed transfers of particular weapons to Israel that might be used in Rafah” in April when it seemed Israel appeared close to making a decision on the assault.
“As a result of that review, we have paused one shipment of weapons last week. It consists of 1,800 2,000-lb (900kg) bombs and 1,700 500-lb (225kg) 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 was quoted as saying. The news agencies said he spoke on condition of anonymity given the issue’s sensitivity.
Reuters reported that four sources said the shipments, which have been delayed for at least two weeks, involved Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), which place precision guidance systems onto bombs, as well as Small Diameter Bombs.
Citing unnamed officials, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Tuesday that the US had delayed the shipment of some 6,500 JDAMs.
The delay comes at a time when Washington is publicly pressuring Israel to postpone its planned offensive in Rafah until it has taken steps to avert civilian casualties.
The White House and Pentagon declined to comment on the shipment delays. (Aljazeera)
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