Sec. Austin Confirms Admin Withholding Ammunition From Israel Over Disagreement on Rafah

Lloyd Austin

Didn’t…didn’t the Democrats go scorched earth on President Donald Trump for something similar?

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed the administration has withheld payload ammunition from Israel as officials assess the situation in Rafah.

That assessment includes Israel’s plan for an offensive in Rafeh, especially the safety of civilians:

“We’ve been very clear… from the very beginning that Israel shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battlespace. And again, as we have assessed the situation, we have paused one shipment of high payload munitions,” he tells a Senate hearing.“We’ve not made a final determination on how to proceed with that shipment.”

Rumors circulated last week that the Biden administration halted the delivery of arms to Israel to pressure the Jewish state from invading Rafah.

Weird. I don’t hear about any pressure on Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia.

You know, like how Israel is doing against Hamas…which still has a ton of hostages!

Earlier this week, Hamas fired rockets from Rafah, the terrorist group’s last stronghold, toward the humanitarian crossing from Gaza into Israel. The rockets landed near civilian shelters, injuring several people.

Hamas boasted about hitting the humanitarian area. Israel had to close the crossing, stopping trucks from delivering aid.

I don’t believe in coincidences, so I’m not surprised Hamas chose to strike after the Biden admin supposedly guaranteed the terrorists that Israel would not invade and end the war if they agreed to the latest deal.

Israel said no way:

The Israeli government rejected the Biden administration’s unilateral guarantee to abandon the military mission to capture Rafah, where Hamas’s terrorist leaderships is hiding behind Israeli hostages serving as human shields.According to a U.S. intelligence sources, Hamas’s Gaza-based chief Yahya “Sinwar has approximately 15 to 20 hostages surrounding him and his family in Gaza,” the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported this week.

On Monday, Israel began targeted strikes on Rafah.

“The IDF began a precise counterterrorism operation in the eastern Rafah area; Following intelligence that indicated that the Rafah Crossing in eastern Rafah was being used for terrorist purposes,” the Israeli military said in a press release Tuesday morning. “IDF troops obtained operational control of the Gazan side of the crossing.”

As they always do, the IDF encouraged citizens to leave for Al-Mawasi. The military set up hospitals and tents and brought more food, water, and supplies.

Tags: Defense Department, Gaza - 2023 War, Hamas, Israel, Lloyd Austin

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