The Pentagon is still unsure about how to proceed with the halted shipment of bombs to Israel due to opposition to the Rafah operation.
A DoD spokesperson has stated that a final decision on the shipment has not yet been made.
The shipment of two types of precision bombs to Israel is still on hold after being halted by the U.S. due to opposition to Israeli forces' operation in Rafah.
The Biden administration has stated that the shipment may contain 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs that could be used in Rafah.
The shipment of bombs has been paused, but the future of the shipment is uncertain, according to Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder.
Ryder stated that a final decision on how to handle this shipment has not been reached.
On Wednesday, a U.S. official stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that the U.S. stance has consistently been that Israel should avoid launching a significant ground operation in Rafah, which currently houses over a million people.
"The official stated that the Strategic Consultative Group has been discussing with Israel how to meet the humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah and how to operate differently against Hamas there than they have elsewhere in Gaza. However, the discussions have not fully addressed our concerns. As Israeli leaders approached a decision point on such an operation, we began to carefully review proposed transfers of particular weapons to Israel that might be used in Rafah. This started in April."
Last week, the U.S. decided to halt the shipment of bombs due to concerns about their end-use and potential impact in urban settings, as seen in Gaza.
The official stressed that the shipments are not linked to the Israel supplemental appropriations passed recently.
U.S.-made ammunition to Israel was halted for the first time since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas against the Jewish state, according to a statement from a U.S. official.
The Israel Defense Forces declared operational control of the Rafah Crossing on the Gazan side after launching a "precise counterterrorism operation" in eastern Rafah to eliminate Hamas terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure in specific areas.
Planet Chronicle Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this report.
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