US paused bomb shipment to Israel over Rafah invasion concerns, official says

The Biden administration recently paused an arms shipment to Israel due to concerns the country could launch a full-scale assault on Rafah, a city in southern Gaza — a move the U.S. has strongly opposed.

The shipment would have included roughly 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, a senior administration official told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

More than a million civilians have sheltered in Rafah after being forced to evacuate other areas in Gaza due to the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. The U.S. has voiced concerns over the Israeli military using the larger explosives in the dense and urban area.

Israeli officials scrambled over the reason behind the pause, according to Axios, which first reported the shipment delay last week.

The Biden administration committed $26 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Israel late last month, continuing a streak of strong support for Israel against the militant group. In a recent statement to The Hill, the National Security Council said that support hasn’t changed.

“The United States has surged billions of dollars in security assistance to Israel since the October 7 attacks, passed the largest ever supplemental appropriation for emergency assistance to Israel, led an unprecedented coalition to defend Israel against Iranian attacks, and will continue to do what is necessary to ensure Israel can defend itself from the threats it faces,” an NSC spokesperson said

Israel began “targeted strikes” in eastern Rafah late Monday, despite concerns from many about how military action in the city could affect the civilians sheltering there.

Israel also gained control of the Gazan side of the crossing at Rafah, which is the only point of entry between the territory and Egypt and key to the flow of humanitarian assistance.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

The Associated Press contributed.