Online media outlet Axios reported on the 5th, citing two Israeli officials, that the U.S. government put on hold a shipment of American ammunition that was scheduled to be sent to Israel last week.
Axos, however, did not disclose what type of ammunition the United States was withholding from shipment and how much it was. Axios reported that this is the first time that the Joe Biden administration has put a hold on weapons shipments that were intended to be provided to Israel since the Palestinian armed political group Hamas raided Israel on October 7 last year.
According to Axios, Israeli officials were scrambling to understand why the U.S. government suddenly withheld an arms shipment. As the Biden administration was previously criticized for the US government’s unilateral support and weapons support for Israel, it requested assurances from Israel in February that the Israeli military was using US-made weapons in the Gaza Strip in accordance with international law, and Israel responded in March. Axios reported that a signed warranty was delivered.
In relation to the Axios report, CNN cited a source and reported that the Biden administration had suspended one shipment of American ammunition to Israel, but the reason was unclear. The source did not disclose the reason for the decision but said the shipment hold was not related to Israel’s Rafah operation and would not affect the progress of other shipments. When asked about the shipment’s holdup, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) noted that security assistance to Israel is ongoing, CNN reported.
An NSC spokesperson said that since the attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7 last year, the United States has “increased security assistance to Israel by billions of dollars, passed the largest-ever supplemental budget for emergency aid to Israel, and strengthened Israel’s defense against Iranian attacks.” “He led an unprecedented coalition to defend.” “The United States will continue to do what is necessary to ensure that Israel can defend itself from threats,” the NSC spokesperson added. Previously, there was speculation that this measure by the Biden administration appears to be related to Israel’s unwavering intention to invade La Paz, the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, where 1.4 million Palestinian refugees are concentrated.
The United States has been demanding that Israel make a careful decision regarding the Rafah attack due to concerns about large-scale civilian casualties. Additionally, in the United States, pro-Palestinian protests criticizing unilateral support and weapons support for Israel are taking place at universities across the country, and even within the Democratic Party, negative voices are being raised about weapons support to Israel, which is preparing to attack Rafah. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has revealed that he plans to attack Rafah to eliminate Hamas regardless of whether there is an agreement between Israel and Hamas on the release of hostages and a ceasefire currently in progress in Cairo, Egypt.
On the 1st, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken visited Israel and discussed the issue of the Rafah attack with Prime Minister Netanyahu, but Prime Minister Netanyahu did not bend his position on the Rafah attack, so they ran parallel paths.
At a talk hosted by the McCain Institute in Arizona on the 3rd, Secretary Blinken said that President Biden had requested Israel to have a credible plan to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip, saying, “If there is no such plan, we (the U.S. government) will not conduct a major military operation to Rafah.” “I cannot support it,” he repeatedly confirmed.