US delayed sending bombs to Israel to express discontent as political message: report

The Biden administration is delaying the delivery of some precision bombs to Israel as a warning sign, a U.S. official and six people with knowledge of the matter told Politico on Tuesday. The shipping delay was first reported by Axios last week, but the reason for the delay was unclear at the time. A senior administration official told the outlet Tuesday that the shipment consisted of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs. The quiet pressure campaign comes after months of Biden and his officials warning Israel against launching a full-scale attack on Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost town, which has become a refuge for more than million displaced Palestinians. Despite the delay in shipments last week, Israeli authorities on Monday issued notice to 100,000 civilians to evacuate neighborhoods east of Rafah. The senior administration official told Axios that “a final decision on how to proceed with this expedition” had not yet been made.