The United States plans to authorize part of a weapons shipment to Israel that it had withheld in the spring over concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza, a U.S. official said on Thursday.
The official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that the United States would send 1,700 500-pound bombs that had been held up because they were part of a shipment that had also included 1,800 2,000-pound bombs, which the country has chosen not to ship to Israel.
It was the first time that Mr. Biden tried to influence Israel’s approach to the war by using his power to curtail arms.
The United States will continue to withhold 2,000-pound bombs out of concerns over the civilian deaths or injuries that they could cause in Gaza, the official said.
A New York Times investigation in December found that American 2,000-pound bombs were responsible for some of the worst harm to Palestinian civilians since the war in Gaza began after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
Persons:
Biden
Organizations:
United, U.S, New York Times
Locations:
United States, Israel, Gaza, United, U.S, Rafah