US Stop Bomb Delivery To Israel

JAKARTA - The United States has reportedly stopped sending large-power bombs to Israel, a US official said.

The delay in this shipment comes as Washington puts pressure on its allies to avoid a massive invasion of Gaza.

A senior US official said President Joe Biden's administration stopped sending weapons to Israel last week in a real response to the expected Rafah attack. The White House and the Pentagon declined to comment.

This will be the first delay since the Biden administration offered its full support to Israel after the Hamas attack on October 7. Washington is Israel's closest ally and major arms supplier.

A senior Israeli official, who asked not to be named, said "if we have to fight with all our might, then we will do what we have to do."

Earlier, Hamas said its fighters were battling Israeli forces in the east of the city, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians seek refuge from fighting elsewhere in the enclave. Residents say fighting is still happening in the suburbs.

Israel has threatened to carry out a massive offensive against Rafah to defeat thousands of Hamas fighters it says are hiding there, but Western countries and the United Nations have warned a massive attack on Rafah will be a humanitarian catastrophe.