The news agency refers to a senior official in the Biden administration as the source of the information.
The website Axios received similar information at the weekend from unnamed Israeli officials. According to Axios, it is the first time since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 that the US has halted a weapons delivery to the Israeli military.
The source tells AP that no final decision has been made on whether the bombs will be sent later or not. AFP is also informed that the delivery has been delayed.
Concern for use in cities
The delivery should have been 1,800 bombs of 900 kilograms each and 1,700 bombs of 225 kilograms.
According to the AP source, the Americans were most concerned about how the bombs would be used in densely populated urban areas such as Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinian civilians have sought refuge after fleeing from other parts of the Gaza Strip.
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Israel is now apparently about to launch an invasion of Rafah, despite American opposition to this. At the same time, Israel’s government has rejected a ceasefire proposal that Hamas has agreed to.
AP writes that the US rarely used the 900-kilogram bomb in the long-running war against the extreme jihadist group IS, while Israel has used it regularly in the seven months of attacks against the Gaza Strip.
Long-term support
Since 1948, Israel has received over NOK 2,000 billion in aid from the United States, and in the last 25 years everything has been in the form of military support. A ten-year agreement, which does not expire until 2028, secures the country close to NOK 42 billion annually.
On top of this comes a number of additional appropriations, the latest of close to NOK 190 billion, passed in the House of Representatives in Congress in April.
In February, the Biden administration asked Israel to provide guarantees that American-made weapons were not used in Gaza in violation of international law. Israel, which is being investigated by the UN court for possible genocide against the Palestinians, gave the US a letter with such assurances in March, according to Axios.
Israel has always claimed that the Israeli army is fighting a legitimate war in line with the international law of war in Gaza.
