Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed on Wednesday that the Biden Administration paused a shipment of munitions meant for Israel over the imminent Rafah offensive.
Austin commented before the Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee that the U.S. paused “one shipment of high payload munitions.”
“We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself,” Austin said. “But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah.”
Watch the clip below:
BREAKING: United States @SecDef Lloyd Austin explains why the US has paused security assistance for Israel, says, “Israel shouldn't launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians.” WATCH pic.twitter.com/lycmylG5vZ
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) May 8, 2024
From NEWSMAX:
The U.S. has historically provided enormous amounts of military aid to Israel. That has only accelerated in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 in Israel and led to about 250 being taken captive by militants. The pausing of the aid shipment is the most striking manifestation of the growing daylight between Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the administration of President Joe Biden, which has called on Israel to do far more to protect the lives of innocent civilians in Gaza.
It also comes as the Biden administration is due to deliver a first-of-its-kind formal verdict this week on whether the airstrikes on Gaza and restrictions on delivery of aid have violated international and U.S. laws designed to spare civilians from the worst horrors of war. A decision against Israel would further add to pressure on Biden to curb the flow of weapons and money to Israel’s military.
Biden signed off on the pause in an order conveyed last week to the Pentagon, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment on the matter. The White House National Security Council sought to keep the decision out of the public eye for several days until it had a better understanding of the scope of Israel’s intensified military operations in Rafah and until Biden could deliver a long-planned speech on Tuesday to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.
More over at Breitbart News:
Stopping weapons to our allies; supporting our enemies; trying to dictate an allied foreign nation's elections… this all sounds like blackmail, and worse…treasonhttps://t.co/V61iXEIZRQ
— Rabbi Michael Barclay (@Rabbi_Barclay) May 8, 2024
