Why the US paused the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel ahead of a possible Rafah attack

WASHINGTON -- As it targets Hamas’ underground tunnels successful Gaza, Israel has relied connected almighty 2,000-pound bombs provided by the United States. But present those deliveries are connected hold.

The U.S. is pausing a shipment of 1,800 of the bombs, arsenic good arsenic 1,700 500-pound bombs, U.S. officials said. The determination comes arsenic Israel is readying an battle connected the confederate Gaza metropolis of Rafah successful an effort to basal retired the last elements of Hamas.

With much than 1 cardinal refugees sheltering successful Rafah, U.S. officials are acrophobic the bombs could inflict monolithic casualties. Human rights groups person agelong said that Israel’s usage of almighty bombs has caused the indiscriminate killings of civilians.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a Senate sheet Wednesday that smaller, much precise weapons are needed for a densely populated country similar Rafah.

Still, helium made wide the determination wasn’t final.

“We’re going to proceed to bash what’s indispensable to guarantee that Israel has the means to support itself,” Austin said. “But that said, we are presently reviewing immoderate near-term information assistance shipments successful the discourse of unfolding events successful Rafah.”

A look astatine the 2,000-pound weaponry and wherefore there’s truthful overmuch interest astir its usage successful Rafah.

While the U.S. has dropped 2,000-pound bombs disconnected its craft since World War II, existent versions day backmost to the Vietnam War. It's an air-dropped munition, 1 that tin transportation a higher payload due to the fact that it doesn't person an engine. It's 1 of the larger munitions successful the U.S. inventory, said Ryan Brobst, a elder probe expert astatine the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies' Center connected Military and Political Power.

The 2,000-pound weaponry has aggregate variants — immoderate are designed to penetrate deep, underground targets portion others detonate supra crushed and origin wide damage. Depending connected the variant, and whether the munition is dropped successful an unfastened oregon municipality area, its blast radius tin beryllium arsenic acold arsenic a 4th mile distant oregon a overmuch much confined area.

The bombs are “dumb” oregon unguided bombs but tin beryllium turned into much precise weapons with the summation of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, oregon JDAM kits which adhd a process fin and navigation.

That added kit enables troops to usher the munition to a target, alternatively than simply dropping it from a combatant pitchy onto the ground. The kits marque the weapons much precise, but successful a densely populated municipality environment, a JDAM kit is not going to marque overmuch of a quality — a precise deed volition inactive person the scope to termination unintended bystanders.

U.S. combatant jets, bombers and drones tin each occurrence the JDAMs, and the U.S. began providing the munitions to Ukraine successful 2022, a somewhat modified mentation that could beryllium launched from Ukrainian aircraft. After the Oct. 7 onslaught connected Israel by Hamas, the U.S. provided 2,000-pound munitions to Israel to assistance successful its defense.

And dissimilar different types of munitions successful the U.S. inventory, the subject has an ample proviso of them, truthful providing them doesn’t impact the aforesaid benignant of stockpile pressures the U.S. has with different much constricted munitions similar the 155mm artillery rounds.

The Israeli subject has said small astir what kinds of bombs and artillery it is utilizing successful Gaza. But from blast fragments recovered on-site and analyses of onslaught footage, experts are assured that the immense bulk of bombs dropped connected the besieged enclave are U.S.-made. They accidental the 2,000-pound bombs person killed hundreds successful densely populated areas.

Brobst said the 2,000-pound bombs are inactive needed to assistance Israel successful striking Hamas' passageway web successful Rafah.

Wes Bryant, a weapons adept and retired American Air Force maestro sergeant who served connected an autarkic task unit for the State and Defense Departments connected Israel's usage of weapons successful Gaza, said that the intermission would beryllium a “huge hit” to the Israeli arsenal.

The 2,000- and 500-pound bombs are immoderate of the main munitions utilized by Israel successful its seven-month warfare campaign, Bryant said.

“They person been burning close done them,” said Bryant. He said the munitions are made by large American weapons manufacturers similar Raytheon, Northrop, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and General Atomics.

A study compiled by the autarkic task unit for the State and Defense Departments past period said U.S. sources informed 1 of its members that 300,000 munitions had been dropped connected oregon fired successful Gaza during the archetypal six months of the war.

It cited “credible” media investigations that successful the archetypal period of the Israeli run alone, determination were astatine slightest 500 craters successful Gaza accordant with the usage of 2,000-pound bombs.

The imaginable usage of 2,000-pound bombs successful Rafah, wherever much than 1 cardinal radical person sheltered due to the fact that they person obscurity other to go, has drawn important medication concern.

At the hearing, Austin questioned whether the 2,000-pound weaponry was the close instrumentality for the Rafah operation.

“It’s astir having the close kinds of weapons for the task astatine hand. And a tiny diameter bomb, which is simply a precision weapon, that’s precise utile successful a dense, built-up environment,” said Austin, “but possibly not truthful overmuch a 2,000-pound weaponry that could make a batch of collateral damage.” He said the U.S. wants to spot Israel bash “more precise” operations.

Israel reacted powerfully to the U.S. decision. Its U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the intermission “a precise disappointing decision, adjacent frustrating,” successful an interrogation with Israeli Channel 12 TV news. He suggested that the determination stemmed from governmental unit connected Biden from Congress, field protests and the upcoming election.

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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Ellen Knickmeyer successful Washington, and Julia Frankel successful Jerusalem contributed to this report.