The Biden administration is holding back shipments of Boeing precision bombs to Israel, Politico reports.
Published: 07/05/2024 18:29 | Updated: 07/05/2024 19:06
The short version
- The Biden administration halts shipments of Boeing precision bombs to Israel. This is intended as a political signal to put pressure on Israel’s willingness to accept a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The summary is created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and quality assured by Aftenposten’s journalists.
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It concerns two different types of Boeing-made precision bombs.
The motivation is said to be to send a political signal to Israel, according to a US official and six other people with insight into the matter, according to Politico.
Reuters writes at the same time that the United States will have withheld arms shipments for at least two weeks.
Attacks despite warnings – UN fears “humanitarian nightmare”
Israel has announced that it will launch an invasion of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, despite American opposition to this. It has previously been estimated that one million civilians have sought refuge in this area.
In recent days, Israel has carried out a number of airstrikes against Rafah and entered parts of the area with tanks. Many civilians are said to have been killed and injured, but international journalists are not allowed into the area. This makes it difficult to get an overview of what is actually happening.
Reuters reports on Tuesday evening that Israeli authorities have said that Rafah strikes will be “limited”.
The Israelis have taken control of the Palestinian side of the border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. This is crucial for delivering emergency aid to the starving population in the Gaza Strip. Israel says the operation was carried out to prevent weapons being smuggled into Gaza.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres says it will be a strategic mistake, a terrible political accident and a humanitarian nightmare if Israel attacks Rafah in full.
– The new military activity in Rafah makes me very uneasy and sad. The closure of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings is particularly devastating in an already very difficult humanitarian situation. They must be reopened immediately, Guterres told the press on Tuesday.
Said no to a truce
The borders of the Gaza Strip are closed, both to Israel and Egypt. The coastal areas towards the Mediterranean are under Israeli control and blocked off. Gaza’s 2.5 million people are therefore confined to 360 square kilometers and cannot flee to safe areas.
Israel’s government has also rejected a ceasefire proposal that Hamas has announced it has agreed to. Israel believes it cannot accept the terms of the proposal.
The spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, John Kirby, says on Tuesday that Kirby negotiations between Hamas and Israel will continue again on Tuesday. He believes there is reason to hope for a ceasefire “soon”.
Strong pressure
At the weekend, Israeli sources informed the website Axios that the US had put a delivery of ammunition to Israel on hold.
This will be the first time that the US has “delayed” a potential arms sale to Israel since Hamas’ terrorist attack on 7 October.
President Joe Biden has long been under pressure from several in his own party to stop or limit arms support to Israel after the fierce Israeli bombing of Gaza in recent months.
The bombing campaign and the ground invasion have killed over 34,700 people. The source for the death toll is the Palestinian health authorities in Gaza, which are controlled by Hamas. Aftenposten cannot independently verify the figures for those killed, and Hamas does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The UN has pointed out that the figures given by the Palestinian health authorities in previous wars have later proved to be credible.
