U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended Washington's decision to halt the delivery of 3,500 bombs to Israel, citing concerns they might be used in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. He stated that Israel lacks a "credible plan" to protect the approximately 1.4 million civilians taking shelter there. In an interview with ABC News, Blinken mentioned that U.S. President Joe Biden remains committed to helping Israel defend itself, and that the bomb shipment, including some weighing 500 pounds (about 227 kg) and others weighing 2,000 pounds (907 kg), is the only package of U.S. arms that has been withheld.
He explained that "if Israel launches a large-scale attack on Rafah, which it claims it intends to storm to eliminate Palestinian factions, the U.S. stance on assisting Israel may change." Blinken revealed that Biden told Israel that if it "conducts this major military operation in Rafah, there are certain (weapons) systems that we will not support or provide for this operation."
He added: "We have real concerns about how they are being used. Israel must have a clear and credible plan to protect civilians, which we have not seen."
Additionally, the U.S. Secretary of State warned that a large-scale Israeli attack on Rafah would sow "chaos" without eliminating Hamas, acknowledging that the number of civilians killed in the conflict exceeds the casualties among the Palestinian movement. Blinken viewed in an interview with NBC that the current plan being considered by Israel in Rafah "could cause massive damage among civilians without solving the issue." He went on to say, "Thousands of armed Hamas elements will remain even with the attack in Rafah."
