U.S. pauses weapons shipment to Israel

Trevor Shirley
·2 min read
2

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The White House recently paused shipments of bombs to Israel out of fear they’d be used in an invasion of Rafah, which the U.S. opposes.

So far, the White House isn’t commenting on this report as Israeli troops move into Rafah.

According to our partners at NewsNation, the U.S. halted shipments of some offensive weapons to Israel last week amid growing fears of expanded military operations in Rafah.

“I don’t have a comment and I certainly wouldn’t comment on specific cases or shipments. What I can reiterate is that our commitment to Israel security remains ironclad,” said Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh

The shipment was set to include 1800 2000-pound bombs and 1700 500-pound bombs.

Military officials raised concerns about how weapons that large would be used in a dense urban setting like Rafah.

“We have been very clear from here about our concerns about a major operation. We have been very clear from here about protecting civilians,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

For weeks the White House urged Israel not to expand the fighting into Rafah, a tightly packed enclave in southern Gaza but this week, Israeli forces took control of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.

“We believe what they are saying that this was a limited operation, that it was to cut off the movement, the traffic of weapons into Gaza through the Rafah crossing,” said Singh.

Fears remain this could be the first step of an operation that more deeply entrenches Israeli troops in Gaza potentially derailing ceasefire talks and hostage negotiations.

“We’re in touch with our Israeli counterparts. We’re going to see how this unfolds,” said Singh.

Israel has ordered the evacuation of about 100,000 people from Rafah and says it will continue targeted strikes.

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