The shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, according to the official, with the focus of U.S. concern being the larger explosives and how they could be used in a dense urban setting.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S., a senior administration official said Tuesday.
Biden’s administration in April began reviewing future transfers of military assistance as Netanyahu’s government appeared to move closer toward an invasion of Rafah, despite months of opposition from the White House. The official said the decision to pause the shipment was made last week and no final decision had been made yet on whether to proceed with the shipment at a later date.
The U.S. bombs burst in air in the national anthem, which seems less than effective as a method of warfare in the pre-aviation days, but I'm not going to tell the people who won the War of 1812 how to sing a song about it.
Good. Unfortunately it feels like far too little, far too late, and reading the article maybe only a one off thing for a particular shipment. Wondering if the article is just trying to paint the US as pushing back against the Israeli government without actually doing anything substantive.
Pausing arms shipments until Isreal stops doing a genocide has been the most widely requested response - I think this is a win. He may always backtrack but I'm willing to celebrate this.
Any steps away from supplying munitions are good steps. The article states that it’s allowing time for the verdict on the Rafah airstrikes breaking US and International Law. Ruling against Israel would aid in justifying further withdrawal to those that still support Israel. Almost half of Congress and a third of Americans still support Israel’s attacks, likely tied to their sources of media consumption.