US paused Israel weapons shipment due to Rafah: US defense secretary

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden's decision to hold up delivery of high payload munitions to Israel was taken over a possible Israeli offensive in Rafah that Washington believes could put Palestinian civilians at risk, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday (May 8).

Austin was the first senior Biden administration official to publicly explain what appeared to be a possible shift in US policy towards arming Israel.

Biden had pledged his complete support for Israel following the Oct 7 attack on the country by Palestinian militant group Hamas, and he sent Washington's closest Middle East ally weaponry worth billions of dollars.

Austin stressed that the US commitment to Israel's defence remained "ironclad" and that the decision on suspending the munitions shipment was not final.

Still, he said the US preference would be that "no major combat take place in Rafah" and that at a minimum any Israeli operation must safeguard civilian lives.

"We've been very clear... from the very beginning that Israel shouldn't launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battlespace," Austin told a Senate hearing.

"And again, as we have assessed the situation, we have paused one shipment of high payload munitions," he told a Senate hearing.

GAZA TRUCE TALKS ONGOING 

An Israeli official said visiting CIA Director Bill Burns and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed Wednesday "the possibility" of suspending military operations in Gaza's Rafah in exchange for Hamas freeing hostages.

Netanyahu and the US spy chief, who has been involved in mediation efforts in the Israel-Hamas war, met in Jerusalem as part of Washington's latest efforts to secure a truce in the Gaza Strip.

"The two discussed the possibility of Israel pausing the operation in Rafah in exchange for hostage release," the Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The meeting came as truce negotiations resumed in Cairo, after Hamas on Monday announced it had accepted a ceasefire proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar.

Israel has defied international objections and sent tanks into Rafah, the Hamas-ruled territory's southernmost city on the Egyptian border which is packed with Palestinian civilians sheltering.

Overnight Monday-Tuesday, Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side of the key Rafah border crossing, which is the main conduit for aid into the besieged territory.

Israel's incursion into eastern Rafah came after Hamas said it had accepted a truce proposal -- one Israel said was "very far" from what it negotiators had previously agreed to.

On Wednesday, talks aimed at agreeing terms for a truce in the seven-month war were held in the Egyptian capital "with all sides present", according to the Egyptian state-linked media.

Hamas has warned the ongoing talks would be Israel's "last chance" to rescue the estimated 128 hostages still held in Gaza, including 36 who are dead according to Israeli officials.

Mediation efforts have stalled as Hamas has insisted on a lasting ceasefire while Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to destroy the group's remaining forces in Rafah.

ISRAEL RETALIATION FOR ATTACK KILLED 35,000 

The war was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also seized around 250 hostages. Scores of them were released during a one-week truce in November, including 80 Israelis freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 34,844 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

The conflict has also left many of Gaza's 2.3 million people on the brink of starvation and sparked protests in the US demanding that universities and Biden withdraw support for Israel - including the provision of weaponry. Biden is also under pressure from Democrats, including lawmakers in his party, to put more pressure on Israel.

"IT IS ABSURD. GIVE ISRAEL WHAT THEY NEED"

A senior US official, speaking on Tuesday on condition of anonymity, said Washington had carefully reviewed the delivery of weapons that might be used in Rafah, and as a result paused a shipment consisting of 1,800 2,000-lb bombs and 1,700 500-lb bombs.

Austin did not detail the size or number of the munitions involved.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was among the Republicans who rebuked the Biden administration over the decision.

"This is obscene. It is absurd. Give Israel what they need," Graham said, adding it wasn't for Washington to second-guess how Israel fought a war against Hamas militants bent on Israel's destruction.

US Senator Deb Fischer, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called on Biden to drop "his politically-motivated hold". "American support for Israel cannot be in doubt, especially now," she said.

For its part, the Israeli military appeared on Wednesday to play down the arms shipment hold-up, saying the allies resolve any disagreements "behind closed doors".

Speaking at a conference hosted by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper as the Gaza war entered its eighth month, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari described coordination between Israel and the United States as reaching "a scope without precedent, I think, in history"