Top House Republicans who oversee U.S. foreign and military relations criticized the Biden administration on Wednesday for halting a shipment to Israel of about 3,000 heavy bombs.
Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said the administration was weakening Israel’s position in the face of Hamas threats in Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“We are dismayed that the administration has suspended crucial arms shipments to Israel,” the Republican House chairs wrote. “The administration must allow these weapons shipments to move forward to uphold the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security and ensure that Israel can defend itself and defeat Hamas.”
The Biden administration confirmed in recent days that it has stopped sending thousands of heavy bombs to Israel. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller explained that the administration’s actions are related to concerns about Israel’s military operation against Hamas in the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, and the worsening humanitarian crisis.
“We have paused one short-term assistance shipment and are reviewing others,” Miller said Wednesday. “In the context of the unfolding situation in Rafah, it is a place where we have very serious concerns and that is why we have taken the measures we have taken.”
Some Democrats welcomed the pause in curbing U.S. offensive weapons as they fear they could contribute to a humanitarian crisis and civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip.
But Republicans and critics of the administration’s decision to suspend arms transfers call into question U.S. solidarity with Israel amid intense negotiations to reach a ceasefire agreement that would guarantee the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas since who were kidnapped on October 7th. attack.
“At a time when Israel continues to negotiate in good faith to secure the release of hostages, including American citizens, the administration’s strategic and shortsighted error calls into question its ‘unwavering commitment’ as an ally,” McCaul and Rogers wrote.
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