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The United States has postponed a planned supply of ammunition to Israel. Because of his operations in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, they are now reconsidering immediate military support for the Jewish state. This was stated by the Minister of Defense Lloyd Austin, thus confirming the reports of the American media from the past days.
According to the press, since the beginning of the war in Gaza last year, this is the first known case when the Americans, because of their disapproval of the actions of the Israeli government, resorted to the supply of weapons.
“We have suspended one shipment of high payload ammunition,” Austin told a US Senate hearing.
He did not specify the amount of ammunition or its parameters, but emphasized that no definitive decision had been made. According to media reports, the government seized a shipment of 3,500 bombs last week, about half of which are powerful bombs weighing about one ton.
“We are currently reassessing some security assistance deliveries in the short term in the context of what is happening in Rafah,” Austin said.
His statement was the latest sign of rising tensions between Washington and the Israeli government amid the Gaza war, which Israel launched in response to a brutal attack by the Hamas terrorist movement on October 7 last year.
Israeli military operations in the densely populated area have killed thousands of civilians and contributed to a massive humanitarian crisis. US officials, including President Joe Biden, have repeatedly voiced reservations about their Middle Eastern ally’s moves, but until last month the government was still supplying Israel with weapons.
Israel this week stepped up its operations in the Rafah city area, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled fighting in recent months. Washington opposes a ground attack on the city, and Secretary Austin said Wednesday that the United States does not want to see “any significant fighting” there.
An unnamed US official told The Washington Post that the delay in delivering the bombs was a “warning shot” to deter the Israelis from attacking.
