Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a video statement Tuesday urging the U.S. to stop withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel.
In May, the Biden administration confirmed that it was withholding heavy precision bombs from Israel in protest against Israel’s decision to enter the southern Gaza town of Rafah to fight the last remaining Hamas battalions.
As a result, Israel was forced to send troops into potentially booby-trapped buildings rather than bombing them.
The White House said it was concerned about Palestinian civilian casualties, but a million civilians left Rafah.
Given the success of the Israeli operation — which has reportedly destroyed half of the Hamas terrorist battalions in Rafah — and the departure of so many civilians to safety, it was thought that Biden had relented on the arms issue.
On Monday, there were unconfirmed reports that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had promised Netanyahu last week that weapons shipments would fully resume. But Netanyahu’s speech suggests otherwise — that the arms shipments are still being withheld. Hence Netanyahu is appealing to the White House publicly and directly.