Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that the U.S. has paused a shipment of “high-payload” munitions to Israel for review over concerns about a potential military offensive on the Gazan city of Rafah.

The paused delivery was supposed to contain 3,500 bombs, split roughly evenly between 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) and 500-pound explosives, according to a senior administration official. Austin said no final decision has been made on the shipment.

Israel needs to account for the protection of civilians in Rafah, where the U.S. would like to see “no major conflict take place,” Austin told a Senate Appropriations panel. The U.S. is worried about the damage the large bombs could inflict on dense urban areas like Rafah, where about 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering from Israel’s war with Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the weapons delay, and it’s unclear if this delay will have much impact on the military’s operations in Gaza. Still, it speaks to growing tensions between Netanyahu and President Joe Biden, who’s voiced opposition to an attack on Rafah and reiterated that message in a call between the leaders on Monday.

Washington has stepped up its criticism of Israel in recent months, saying it’s not doing enough to protect civilians and allow aid into the besieged Palestinian territory, parts of which the United Nations says are on the verge of famine. At the same time, Biden has said his support for Israel is ironclad and he’s defended its right to pursue a strategy of destroying Hamas, an Islamist group backed by Iran.

Austin was questioned about the delayed bomb shipment by a member of the congressional panel. “Does this not send the wrong message to our ally Israel and embolden Iran and Iranian-backed groups?” asked Senator Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican. “We should not signal to our enemies that our support is conditional.”

Biden’s decision marks one of the most significant moments of discord between Israel and its most important ally since Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault, which started the war. Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., killed 1,200 people and abducted roughly 250 when its fighters stormed into southern Israel from Gaza.

Israel’s retaliatory bombardment and ground offensive on the Mediterranean enclave have killed almost 35,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Past pauses

This isn’t the first time the U.S. has used this kind of tool against Israel, though its far from commonplace.

...continued

©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.