The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahuagain insisted this Sunday on his criticism of the White House for, he assured, slowing down the shipment of weapons to Israel, while The country continues its attacks on Rafah (Gaza) and forces advance towards the northwest of the town.
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“About four months ago there was a dramatic drop in the supply of weapons arriving from the United States to Israel. For many weeks we appealed to our American friends to accelerate shipments,” the president said at the beginning of an Executive meeting.
For this reason, he explained, he decided to make a public appeal on June 18, when He recorded himself in English saying that it seemed “inconceivable” that the White House had withheld weapons for Israel.
For its part, the US Government said it did not know what retentions it was referring to and clarified that the only shipment that was stopped was 3,500 bombs in May, due to their possible use in densely populated areas such as the city of Rafah, the most south of the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu reiterated that he was willing to suffer personal attacks for his public insistence on the weapons issue since, as prime minister, his job is to “do everything possible” so that Israeli soldiers have the “best means of combat.”
Gallant travels to Washington
While the president insisted on his claim, the Israeli Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, traveled to Washington to meet with the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, and discuss the situation in Gaza and Lebanon.
In early May, the US government stopped sending 3,500 bombs to Israel, concerned about their possible use in densely populated areas of the Strip. According to CNN, that package contained 1,800 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds (907 kilos) and 1,700 bombs weighing 500 pounds (226 kilos).
Gallant’s visit to the Pentagon, headquarters of the US Defense, has been preceded by the recent tours of the region by Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the trip of mediator Amos Hochstein to Israel and Lebanon, which took place last week. .
All of these meetings have taken place in the context not only of the prolongation of the conflict in Gaza, in which more than 37,500 people have died since its beginning, but also of the escalation of violence on the border with Lebanon, where the exchange of Fire between Israel and the Shiite militia Hezbollah is increasingly intense and raises fears of an open war with regional implications.
Precisely this Sunday an Israeli soldier was seriously injured after the impact of a Hezbollah droneon a morning in which the Israeli Army has intercepted several projectiles aimed at the north of the country.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israeli troops continued to advance northwest, attacking the Gaza neighborhood of Tal al Sultan, where they located a complex allegedly used by Hamas to train militiamen and store weapons.
The soldiers stormed the offices of two commanders of the Islamist group in the area, destroyed tunnel mouths and dismantled the complex.
Bombings in the north and center
According to the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, At least 15 Palestinians died throughout Sunday in Israeli bombings, concentrated since dawn in Gaza City, in the north of the enclave, and later in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the center.
Additionally, five people were killed in an attack on a UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) center southwest of Gaza City, according to the outlet.
Since the war began, 37,598 people have been killed and 86,032 injured in the devastated Palestinian area, according to the latest figures from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
The Ministry also warned that Some 9,000 cancer patients are at risk of death due to a lack of medicines, difficulties in accessing health care and the closure of crossings into the territory by Israeli forces, which prevents patients from being treated outside the Strip.
According to the office, more than 310 health workers have been arrested and many have died at the hands of Israeli soldiers.
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