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The US paused a shipment of weapons to Israel last week in an apparent show of opposition to Israeli’s decision to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing the war have sought refuge.
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, claimed that as Israeli leaders seemed to approach a decision on the assault, the Joe Biden administration “began to carefully review proposed transfers of particular weapons to Israel that might be used in Rafah”, beginning in April.”
“As a result of that review, we have paused one shipment of weapons last week,” the official said.
Meanwhile, a Hamas official named Osama Hamda warned that if Israel’s military aggression in Rafah continued, there would be no truce agreement.
The US, however, expressed hope that remaining differences between Israel and Hamas can be bridged in negotiations over the Palestinian militant group’s latest ceasefire proposal as talks resume in Cairo today.
Israeli forces on Tuesday seized the main border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in Rafah, cutting off a vital route for aid into the tiny Palestinian enclave.
Key Points
- US pauses shipment of weapons to Israel to head off Rafah invasion – official
- Israeli forces take control of Gaza side of Rafah crossing with Egypt
- Israel's Rafah assault causes uncertainty over truce deal
- US optimistic revised Hamas proposal may break Gaza ceasefire impasse
- Israeli official outlines four key issues with ceasefire deal
Israel says it is reopening Kerem Shalom aid crossing into Gaza
Israel was reopening Kerem Shalom crossing on its border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a statement from the Israeli agency in charge of it said,
It added that aid trucks routed through from Egypt were already undergoing security inspections there.
Israel had closed Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday after a Palestinian shelling attack nearby killed four soldiers.
Holly Evans8 May 2024 07:22 1715149216US paused bomb shipment to Israel over concerns of Rafah assault, official reveals
US president Joe Biden’s administration halted a shipment of bombs to Israel amid concerns that Israeli forces were going to launch a major ground offensive in Rafah, an official from the Biden administration revealed.
Israel was set to receive 1,800 bombs weighing around 2,000lbs (907kg) and 1,700 bombs weighing 500lbs (227kg) last week, the White House administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Officials in Israel have not “fully addressed” the concerns of humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah as flagged by Washington, the official said.
More in this report:
US paused bomb shipment to Israel over concerns of Rafah assault, official reveals
Israel has not ‘fully addressed’ concerns of humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah, official claims
Namita Singh8 May 2024 07:20 1715148866Comment: I’ve been on the ground in Rafah – what I saw there horrified me
When I was in Gaza last month, I witnessed hell on earth, writes Melanie Ward. A ground invasion of Rafah will cause mass human suffering and a further healthcare catastrophe. A ceasefire cannot come soon enough.
I’ve been on the ground in Rafah – what I saw there horrified me
When I was in Gaza last month, I witnessed hell on earth, writes Melanie Ward. A ground invasion of Rafah will cause mass human suffering and a further healthcare catastrophe. A ceasefire cannot come soon enough
Namita Singh8 May 2024 07:14 1715146310What does Israel’s control of Rafah crossing mean for sheltering Palestinians?
The Israeli tanks that entered the periphery of Rafah early yesterday stoked global fears that an offensive on Gaza’s southernmost city could endanger the more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there.
The ground assault dimmed hopes of an immediate ceasefire deal that the US, Egypt and Qatar have spent months pushing for. In the hours before the attack began, Hamas agreed to a ceasefire proposal that the Israeli government swiftly rejected.
About 1.3 million Palestinians — more than half of Gaza’s population — are jammed into Rafah and face the prospect of having to evacuate with no good plan for where to find adequate shelter.
Here’s what we know so far about the operation and evacuation plan:
Israeli tanks have rolled into Rafah. What does this mean for the Palestinians sheltering there?
Israel has launched an operation on Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, and seized control of the Gaza side of the key Rafah border crossing with Egypt
Namita Singh8 May 2024 06:31 1715145387Israeli forces take control of Gaza side of Rafah crossing with Egypt
Israeli troops seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing yesterday in what the White House described as a limited operation, as fears mount of a full-scale invasion of the southern city and ceasefire talks with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge.
The UN warned of a potential collapse of the flow of aid to Palestinians from the closure of Rafah and the other main crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom, at a time when officials say northern Gaza is experiencing “full-blown famine”.
The move comes after hours of whiplash in the Israel-Hamas war, with the militant group on Monday saying it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated ceasefire proposal. Israel, meanwhile, insisted the deal did not meet its core demands.
By capturing Rafah, Israel gained full control over the entry and exit of people and goods for the first time since it withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005, though it has long maintained a blockade of the coastal enclave in cooperation with Egypt.
The incursion appeared to be short of the full-fledged offensive into Rafah that Israel has planned and might have been a pressure tactic in the ceasefire talks.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it an “important step” toward dismantling Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, and defence minister Yoav Gallant said Israel would “deepen” the Rafah operation if the talks on the hostage deal failed.
Osama Hamdan, a Hamas official based in Beirut, said the militant group would not respond to military pressure or threats and would not accept any “occupying force” at the Rafah crossing.
Namita Singh8 May 2024 06:16 1715144890Has Israel followed international law in war on Gaza? US to render first-of-its-kind verdict
Facing heat over its military support for Israel’s war, the Joe Biden administration is due to deliver a first-of-its-kind formal verdict this week on whether the airstrikes on Gaza and restrictions on delivery of aid violated international and US laws designed to save civilians from the worst horrors of war.
A decision against Israel would add to pressure on Mr Biden to curb the flow of weapons and money to Israel’s military.
The administration agreed in February, at the insistence of the Democrats in Congress, to look at whether Israel has used US weapons and other military assistance in a lawful manner.
Additionally, under the same agreement, it must tell Congress whether it deems Israel has acted to “arbitrarily deny, restrict, or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly” delivery of any US-supported humanitarian aid into Gaza for starving civilians there.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters yesterday that the department was trying to meet today’s deadline for completing the review but “it’s possible it slips just a little bit”.
The Biden administration is compelled to make a decision just as Israel’s assault on the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah — which is opposed by the US — risks undermining ceasefire negotiations and changing the course of the war and Americans’ support for it.
Namita Singh8 May 2024 06:08 1715140568Israel's Rafah assault causes uncertainty over truce deal
Hamas official Osama Hamda warned that if Israel’s military aggression in Rafah continued, there would be no truce agreement.
Israel’s military said it was conducting a limited operation in Rafah to kill fighters and dismantle infrastructure used by Hamas, which runs Gaza. It told civilians, many displaced from elsewhere in Gaza earlier in the conflict, to go to an “expanded humanitarian zone” some 20 km away.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres appealed to Israel and Hamas to spare no effort in coming to a truce agreement. “Make no mistake, a full-scale assault on Rafah would be a human catastrophe,” Mr Guterres said.
In Geneva, UN humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke said “panic and despair” were gripping the people in Rafah.
Namita Singh8 May 2024 04:56 1715139825US optimistic revised Hamas proposal may break Gaza ceasefire impasse
The United States believes the remaining differences between Israel and Hamas can be bridged in negotiations over the Palestinian militant group’s latest ceasefire proposal, as talks resume in Cairo today.
Israeli forces yesterday seized the main border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than one million displaced Palestinians have sought shelter during Israel’s seven-month-old offensive. This cut off a vital route for aid into the tiny enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people are homeless and hungry.
In Cairo, all five delegations participating in ceasefire talks yesterday - Hamas, Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar - reacted positively to the resumption of negotiations, and meetings were expected to continue this morning, two Egyptian sources said.
CIA director Bill Burns was to travel from Cairo to Israel later today to meet Israeli officials, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a source familiar with his travel said.
Israel on Monday declared that a three-phase proposal approved by Hamas was unacceptable because terms had been softened.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said Hamas presented a revised proposal, and the new text suggests the remaining gaps can “absolutely be closed”. However, he declined to specify what those were.
Namita Singh8 May 2024 04:43 1715138398White House reaffirms ‘ironclad’ commitment to Israel’s security
Without addressing whether there had been a holdup in arms shipments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reaffirmed that Washington’s commitment to Israel’s security was “ironclad.”
When asked about the reports on the arms holdup, she added: “Two things could be true, in the sense of having those conversations, tough, direct conversations with our counterparts in Israel ... in making sure citizens lives are protected ... and getting that commitment.”
The Pentagon said on Monday that there had not been a policy decision to withhold arms from Israel, America’s closest Middle East ally.
Still, the delays appeared to be the first since Biden’s administration offered its full support to Israel following Hamas’s 7 October attack, which killed about 1,200 people with about 250 others abducted, of whom 133 are believed to remain in captivity in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas has led to a seven-month-long military campaign that has killed a total of 34,789 Palestinians, most of them civilians, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
Namita Singh8 May 2024 04:19 1715138138US pauses shipment of weapons to Israel to head off Rafah invasion – official
The US paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior administration official said Tuesday.
US president Joe Biden has been trying to head off a full-scale assault by the Israelis against Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge from combat elsewhere in Gaza.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that as Israeli leaders seemed to approach a decision on a Rafah incursion, “we began to carefully review proposed transfers of particular weapons to Israel that might be used in Rafah” beginning in April.
“As a result of that review, we have paused one shipment of weapons last week. It consists of 1,800 2,000-lb bombs and 1,700 500-lb bombs,” the official said.
“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 official said.
Four sources said the shipments, which have been delayed for at least two weeks, involved Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions, which convert dumb bombs into precision-guided ones, as well as Small Diameter Bombs.
The delay comes at a time when Washington is publicly pressuring Israel to postpone its planned offensive in Rafah until after it has taken steps to avert civilian casualties.
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