The US recently halted a shipment of bombs to Israel due to concerns about a potential large-scale ground operation in Rafah, southern Gaza. The shipment included 1,800 2,000lb bombs and 1,700 500lb bombs.
The US is worried that Israel hasn’t fully addressed the humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah. Israeli forces, backed by tanks, took control of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, leading to further air strikes in Gaza.
There were reports of civilian casualties, including seven members of one family killed in a strike. Israel ordered civilians to evacuate parts of Rafah ahead of a planned operation to target Hamas fighters and infrastructure. Negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of hostages and prisoners are ongoing in Cairo between Israeli and Hamas delegations.
“The US position has been that Israel should not launch a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering with nowhere else to go,” the White House administration official said.
“We have been engaging in a dialogue with Israel in our Strategic Consultative Group format on how they will meet the humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah, and how to operate differently against Hamas there than they have elsewhere in Gaza.
“Those discussions are ongoing and have not fully addressed our concerns. As Israeli leaders seemed to approach a decision point on such an operation, we began to carefully review proposed transfers of particular weapons to Israel that might be used in Rafah. This began in April.
“As a result of that review, we have paused one shipment of weapons last week. It consists of 1,800 2,000lb bombs and 1,700 500lb bombs. 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 unnamed official added that “for certain other cases at the State Department, including JDAM [Joint Direct Attack Munition] kits, we are continuing the review. None of these cases involve imminent transfers – they are about future transfers”.
The official emphasized that these shipments were not related to the Israel supplemental appropriations in April but were instead funded from previously allocated funds, some of which dated back many years.
In response to Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza aimed at destroying the group. The conflict resulted in approximately 1,200 fatalities and over 250 individuals being taken hostage.
Since then, more than 34,780 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
In November, a deal was reached where Hamas released 105 hostages in exchange for a week-long ceasefire and the release of around 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel reports that 128 hostages remain unaccounted for, with 34 of them presumed deceased.
