US defense chief: No ‘final decision’ made on sending Israel breaks
President Joe Biden’s decision to delay the delivery of high-yield munitions to Israel came against the backdrop of Israel’s plans to carry out an offensive in Rafah, which Washington opposes in the absence of new guarantees for the civilians, said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“We have been very clear from the beginning: Israel should not launch a major attack in Rafah without considering and protecting the civilians in this battle space. Once again, after assessing the situation, we have disrupted a shipment of high-payload munitions,” he said during a Senate hearing. “We have not yet made a final decision on what to do with this delivery,” he said.