Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder on Thursday told Channel 13 News’ White House correspondent Neria Kraus that the US has not yet decided whether to transfer to Israel the weapons shipment that was recently delayed.
“As you know, right now, there’s been one shipment that’s been paused that contains some 2,000-pound bombs and no final decision has been made on that shipment,” said Ryder.
“Again, we’ll continue to take a look at that as we have been focused specifically on those 2,000-pound bombs as it relates to their use in areas, potentially, like Rafah. Just trying to mitigate civilian harm,” he added.
He stressed, however, that “the United States, since the October 7 attack, has literally rushed billions of dollars’ worth of security assistance to Israel. We’re going to continue to provide Israel with the munitions it needs to defend itself.”
The White House two weeks ago confirmed it had paused a shipment of bombs to Israel due to US opposition to a planned Israeli attack on the Gazan city of Rafah.
The shipment which was paused was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, a US official told The Associated Press last week.
A day later, President Joe Biden warned that he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Speaking to CNN, Biden said that while the US would continue to provide defensive weapons to Israel, including for its Iron Dome air defense system, other shipments would end should a major ground invasion of Rafah begin.
Subsequently, however, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration notified Congress that it is moving forward with more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel.
The latest weapons package includes the potential transfer of $700 million in tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the officials said.