The United States has stopped a shipment of American-manufactured ammunition bound for Israel last week, US media outlet Axios reported, citing Israeli officials.
According to Axios, this is the first time since the war on Gaza began last October that the United States has prevented a weapons shipment to Israeli army.
The report surfaced as US President Joe Biden is facing mounting pressure among Americans who oppose the US’s unwavering support for Israel – the most recent being the ongoing student protest movement on US college campuses that has garnered global attention and inspired similar movements in other countries.
On Friday, Several Democrats in the US House urged Biden to consider halting arms sales to Israel if it does not alter its approach in Gaza in its war against Hamas.
A letter signed by 86 Democratic members of the Congress was delivered to the White House urging Biden to take a firmer stance towards Israel, according to reports from the AFP.
The lawmakers voiced “serious concerns regarding the Israeli government’s conduct of the war in Gaza as it pertains to the deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid,” the new agency reported.
The letter said any US funding halt should not include missile defense systems such as the Iron Dome. Those signing the letter included Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Israel and Hamas have so far failed to reach an agreement to end the war in Gaza, as Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to the war in exchange for freeing of hostages, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flatly ruled that out.
Israeli armed forces have begun forcibly evacuating Palestinian civilians from Rafah ahead of a planned assault on the southern Gaza city, where millions are seeking shelter, Reuters reported citing an Israeli broadcaster on Monday.
