U.S. suspends arms sales to Israel for first time since Hamas invasion - Axios

The United States has suspended the supply of its ammunition to Israel. This was the first time since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

This was reported by Axios, citing two unnamed Israeli officials. It is noted that this decision was made last week by the administration of US President Joe Biden.

The newspaper emphasized that for the first time since the October 7 Hamas attack, the United States has stopped the supply of weapons intended for the Israeli military.

The incident has caused serious concern in the Israeli government, and officials are trying to understand why the shipment was detained, the journalists' interlocutors said.

So far, the White House has not commented on the matter. The Pentagon, the State Department, and the Israeli Prime Minister's office also did not respond to questions. But Axios believes that this comes as the Biden administration is very concerned about Israel's intentions to invade the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge.

In addition, in recent days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made several statements that he intends to order an invasion of Rafah regardless of whether Israel and Hamas reach an agreement on the release of hostages in Gaza and a ceasefire.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Israel last Wednesday. He had a "tough" conversation with Netanyahu about a possible Israeli operation in Rafah, two people briefed on the meeting told reporters.

Blinken told Netanyahu that a "major military operation" in Rafah would lead to a public outcry against it by the United States and would negatively affect US-Israeli relations.

A day later, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Israeli leaders understand that Biden is "sincere" when he talks about the possibility of changes in US policy on the war in Gaza "if they continue some kind of ground operation in Rafah without taking refugees into account."

Earlier, Netanyahu said that Israel would enter the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, regardless of the ceasefire negotiations. To achieve a complete victory, the IDF must eliminate Hamas battalions there.

- Turkey has suspended all trade relations with Israel because of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Ankara demands that the international community be allowed to provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.

- In April 2024, the head of Israel's military intelligence, Aaron Haliva, resigned. Earlier, the major general took responsibility for the failures that allowed the Hamas terrorist group to attack Israel on October 7, 2023.

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