Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Wednesday, May 8, 2024
US defense chief: No ‘final determination’ made on paused shipment to Israel
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testifies during a House Committee on Armed Services hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on February 29, 2024.(Brendan Smialowski/AFP)
President Joe Biden’s decision to hold up delivery of high payload munitions to Israel was taken in the context of Israel’s plans to carry out an offensive in Rafah that Washington opposes without new civilian safeguards, says US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“We’ve been very clear… from the very beginning that Israel shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battlespace. And again, as we have assessed the situation, we have paused one shipment of high payload munitions,” he tells a Senate hearing.
“We’ve not made a final determination on how to proceed with that shipment.”
