JerusalemIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that the United States is withholding weapons and suggested this was slowing Israel’s offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where fighting has exacerbated an already dire situation. humanitarian aid for the Palestinians.
President Joe Biden has delayed the delivery of certain heavy bombs to Israel since May over concerns about the killing of civilians in Gaza. However, the administration has gone to great lengths to avoid any suggestion that Israeli forces have crossed a red line in deepening the Rafah invasion, which would trigger a broader ban on arms transfers.
Netanyahu, in a short video, spoke directly to the camera in English as he leveled harsh criticism at Biden over “bottlenecks” in arms transfers.
“It is inconceivable that in recent months the administration was withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel,” Netanyahu said, adding: “Give us the tools and we will finish the job much faster.”
Netanyahu did not elaborate on what weapons were being held and the Israeli military declined to respond to a request for comment. Ophir Falk, Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser, referred questions about the details to the U.S. government.
Netanyahu also claimed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a recent visit to Israel, said he was working around the clock to end delays.
However, Blinken said during a press conference Tuesday at the State Department that the only pause in weapons shipments to Israel was related to those May heavy bombs.
“As you know, we continue to review a shipment that President Biden has discussed regarding 2,000-pound (900 kilo) bombs due to our concerns about their use in a densely populated area like Rafah,” Blinken said. “That remains under review. But everything else is progressing as it normally would.”
The United States has provided Israel with crucial military and diplomatic support since the war against the Palestinian armed group Hamas began in October. Israel blames Hamas for the civilian deaths, saying the militants operate among the population.
With the Israeli offensive entering its ninth month, international criticism has steadily increased over US support for Israel’s air and ground campaign in Gaza, with the United Nations’ highest court concluding that there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza, an accusation that Israel strongly denies.
At the same time, months of ceasefire talks have failed to find common ground between Hamas and Israel. Both sides have been reluctant to fully back a U.S.-backed plan that would return Israeli hostages, pave the way for an end to the war and begin a reconstruction effort in decimated territory.
The war has killed more than 37,100 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The war has virtually cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies to Palestinians facing widespread hunger.
The war began after the Hamas attack on October 7, when militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250.
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