Senator hails US suspension of arms shipment to Israel

WASHINGTON

US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday hailed the Biden administration's suspension of an arms shipment to Israel amid a dispute about an attack on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

"Given the unprecedented humanitarian disaster that (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's war has created in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of children face starvation, President Biden is absolutely right to halt bomb deliver to this extreme, right-wing Israeli government," Sanders said in a statement.

His remarks came after the US halted a sizeable weapons shipment to Israel because of worries about their potential use in Rafah, which is home to 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.

A US official, who requested anonymity, said the shipment included 1,800 bombs of 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms) and 1,700 bombs of 500 pounds (227 kilograms). The official stressed concern about the use of the 2,000-pound bombs in densely populated areas of Gaza, NBC news reported.

Sander said the suspension must be a first step.

"The U.S. must now use ALL its leverage to demand an immediate ceasefire, the end of the attacks on Rafah, and the immediate delivery of massive amounts of humanitarian aid to people living in desperation.

"Our leverage is clear. Over the years, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. We can no longer be complicit in Netanyahu’s horrific war against the Palestinian people," he added.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that the US has been very clear from the very beginning that Israel should not launch a major attack in Rafah without first accounting for and protecting civilians in the battlespace.

"As we have assessed the situation, we pause one shipment of high payload munitions,” he said. “We certainly would like to see no major combat take place in Rafah.”