White House pauses shipment of some weapons to Israel

Key Facts

By , Ed O'Keefe, Kathryn Watson Updated on: May 8, 2024 / 8:22 PM EDT / CBS News U.S. pauses arms shipment to Israel U.S. pauses arms shipment to Israel over Rafah concerns 02:51 Washington — The White House last week paused a shipment of weapons to Israel, as Israeli leaders neared a decision to launch an operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a senior administration official said Tuesday.
But the United States' concerns in discussions with Israel about addressing humanitarian needs in Rafah and how to approach Hamas have not been sufficiently addressed, the senior administration official said.
When Israeli leaders appeared close to a decision on Rafah, the Biden administration began to review upcoming transfers of weapons that could be used in Rafah, and as a result, paused one shipment last week, the official said.
Israel has long been threatening a ground assault on Rafah, and confirmed the beginning of the Rafah operation after Israel said a cease-fire proposal Hamas agreed to is "far from meeting Israel's core demands."