Fearing that the newest tranche of American weapons will be used by the Israeli Defence Forces in the invasion of Rafah, U.S. President Joe Biden has paused the transfer of 3,500 bombs and guidance kits to Israel. This as Israeli ground forces have isolated the southern Gazan city’s border crossing to Egypt, leading to speculations of an imminent Israeli incursion into the city.
This just two weeks after the United States announced $26.38 Billion package for Israel that includes $3.5 Billion for weapons and $9.2 Billion for humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. U.S. authorities have said that the latest tranche of weapons worth $827 Million will be sent to Israel.
Authorities are particularly worried about the delivery of 2,000 lbs bombs to Israel, 1,800 of which are part of the 3,500 bombs that have not been sent to Israel, as Israelis fear that these bombs will create an enormous amount of damage in densely packed Rafah which is said to contain well over a million refugees who have escaped here from other parts of Gaza.
Besides the 2,000-pound bombs, the Americans have also put on hold the delivery of some 1,700 X 500 lbs bombs. The delivery of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) bomb guidance kits, that convert dumb bombs into smart munitions have also been temporarily halted as the Americans believe that these bombs will be used in the Israeli incursion of Rafah.
Israeli ground forces are poised to enter Gaza in search of 133 of the 250 Israelis who were taken hostage by Hamas during the deadly October 07 terror attack on Southern Israel. Israel has meanwhile ordered over a lakh civilians to evacuate Rafah and hit targets in the city after 4 Israeli soldiers were killed in a rocket attack emanating from the city.
Dhruv Yadav
