The United States will resume shipments of 500-pound bombs to Israel, a US official told the BBC.
Joint shipments of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs have been suspended since May amid White House concerns about their use in the crowded city of Rafah and other parts of Gaza.
The United States has now clarified that the 500-pound bombs were held only because they were “mixed” with the 2,000-pound bombs in the same shipment.
Plans to resume bomb shipments come as Israel is pushing for military action in the Gaza Strip. On Wednesday, it distributed leaflets instructing “everyone” in Gaza City to head south to shelter in the Deir el-Balah area, warning that the city remained a “dangerous war zone.”
Previously suspended arms shipments spark diplomatic dispute.
At a Senate hearing in May, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the pause, saying: “We have been very clear from the beginning that Israel should not launch attacks on Rafah without considering and protecting civilians. Massive attack.
“As we assess the situation,” he said, “we have suspended the shipment of a shipment of high-payload munitions.”
In June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strikes backhe released a video criticizing the U.S. stance, saying he had told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the seizure of arms and ammunition “over the past few months” was “inconceivable.”
The video of Mr Netanyahu speaking in English appeared to be aimed at Mr Blinken and was released an hour before Mr Blinken attended a news conference.
“We really don’t know what he’s talking about,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded.
After a visit to Washington in late June, Israeli Defense Minister Yov Galante said significant progress had been made in resolving the issue and that “obstacles have been removed and bottlenecks have been resolved.”
Mr Galante met with US envoy Brett McGurk on Thursday and discussed “the delivery of critical munitions, some of which will be shipped to Israel in the coming days,” according to a statement from Galante’s office.
Despite a two-month delay in bomb shipments, Israel continues to receive other types of U.S. weapons.
But continuing to halt supplies of the 2,000-pound bomb is likely to remain a bone of contention between the two allies.
