THE United States has paused a bomb shipment due to be sent to Israel over growing concerns about a military offensive in Rafah.
A senior US official said that Israel had not “fully addressed” US concerns about the humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza.
Therefore, a shipment of nearly 4000 bombs was paused last week.
"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," they 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.
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"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 2,000lb 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 US Government has provided huge amounts of military aid to Israel yet has grown increasingly anxious about the actions of the Israeli military in Gaza, particularly in Rafah.
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Bombs were dropped around the city overnight with local medics saying that seven members of the same family had been killed in a strike.
It comes after the crossing between Gaza and Egypt near Rafah was closed off by Israeli authorities despite being a key access point for international aid and the only place civilians have been able to flee Gaza.
Yet Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Danuel Hagari told a press conference that disputes between Israel and its allies were being resolved “behind closed doors in a matter-of-fact way.”
He added: "We are responsible for the security interests of the State of Israel, and we are attentive to the interest of the United States in the region.”
It comes after the United Nations warned that northern Gaza was experiencing “full-blown famine” as a result of the ongoing conflict.
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