The Hague:
The United States has suspended a shipment of weapons to Israel, including heavy bombs that the American ally used in its campaign against Hamas operatives in Gaza that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians.
The suspension comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues a military assault on the Palestinian city of Rafah despite US President Joe Biden's objections.
Here's what we know so far:
WHICH BOMBS WERE BLOCKED?
According to US officials, Washington halted a shipment consisting of 1,800 2,000-pound (907 kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs.
Four sources said the shipments, which have been delayed for at least two weeks, involved Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions, which convert dumb bombs into precision-guided bombs, as well as Small Diameter Bombs (SDB-1). The SDB-1 is a precision-guided glide bomb that contains 250 pounds of explosive.
They were part of a previously approved shipment to Israel, and not part of the recent $95 billion additional aid package that the U.S. Congress passed in April.
WHY IS THE US BLOCKING THESE BOMBS?
The US is reviewing “short-term security assistance,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a Senate hearing on Wednesday “in the context of the events in Rafah.”
“We have been very clear from the very beginning that Israel should not launch a major attack on Rafah without taking into account and protecting the civilians who are in that battle zone,” Austin said. More than a million Palestinian civilians have sought shelter in Rafah, many previously displaced from other parts of Gaza under Israeli orders to evacuate from there.
The U.S. decision was made because of concerns about the “end use of the 2,000-pound bombs and the impact they could have in dense urban environments, as we have seen in other parts of Gaza,” said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity. . The US had carefully controlled the supply of weapons that might be used in Rafah, the official said.
WHEN WAS THE DECISION MADE? WAS BIDEN INVOLVED?
The decision was made last week, U.S. officials said. Biden was directly involved.
WHAT KIND OF DAMAGE CAN 2,000 POUND BOMBS CAUSE?
Large bombs, such as 2,000 pound bombs, have an impact over a large area. According to the United Nations, “The pressure of the explosion can rupture lungs, burst sinus cavities and tear off limbs hundreds of meters from the blast site.”
The International Commission for the Red Cross reported in 2022 that the large-scale use of explosives in a densely populated area was “very likely to have indiscriminate effects or violate the principle of proportionality.”
WHAT WAS ISRAEL'S RESPONSE?
Israel denies targeting Palestinian civilians, saying its only interest is to destroy Hamas and that it is taking every precaution to avoid unnecessary deaths.
After the news broke in Washington on Tuesday, a senior Israeli official declined to confirm the report. “If we have to fight with our fingernails, we will do what we have to do,” the source said. A military spokesman said any disagreements were resolved privately.
WERE THESE BOMBS LEGAL FOR ISRAEL TO USE IN GAZA?
That is a matter of heated debate.
International humanitarian law does not explicitly prohibit aerial bombardment of densely populated areas, but civilians cannot be targeted and a specific military objective must be proportionate to possible civilian casualties or damage.
WHAT DOES THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT SAY?
The statute of the International Criminal Court, which is investigating the war between Israel and Gaza, lists the intentional launching of an attack as a war crime when it is known that civilian deaths or damage will be “manifestly excessive” compared to any direct military benefit.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)