Biden halts bomb deliveries to Israel amidst Gaza civilian casualties

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the delivery of bombs to Israel for the war with Hamas has been suspended to prevent them from being used to kill Palestinian civilians.

"Civilians are dying in Gaza as a result of these bombs being dropped and other methods of attacks on population centres," Joe Biden stated in an interview with CNN when asked about the bombs sent to Israel.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that the USA has suspended a shipment of ammunition to Israel due to Israel's announced plans for a military operation in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. He added that his department is currently analyzing further shipments.

Austin confirmed media reports about the suspension of ammunition delivery to Israel during a hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Defense appropriations. He stated that the decision was related to Israel's announced plans to storm Rafah - the last stronghold of Hamas, where at the same time over a million Palestinian civilians seek shelter.

"From the beginning, we clearly stated that Israel should not launch a large-scale attack on Rafah without protecting the civilians who are on this battlefield. And after analyzing the situation, we suspended a shipment of ammunition," said Austin.

On platform X, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Wednesday that hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip have only three days of fuel left.

"Hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip have fuel for only three days, which means they may soon stop functioning," wrote Tedros Ghebreyesus.

"One of the three hospitals in Rafah, Al-Najjar, is already not functioning due to the ongoing fighting in its vicinity and the military operation in Rafah," emphasized the WHO chief. He added that the closure of the border crossing still prevents the UN from delivering fuel. "Without it, all humanitarian actions will be halted," he alarmed.

Fuel is primarily used to power generators that supply hospitals with electricity.

The Israeli army conducted airstrikes and "targeted" operations in Rafah on Wednesday. The day before, it seized control over the border crossing in the city, which plays a strategic role in delivering humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

"At a time when it is urgent to expand weakened humanitarian efforts, the military operation in Rafah further limits our ability to reach thousands of people living in tragic conditions, without food, without sanitation, without adequate healthcare, and security. This must end," warned Tedros Ghebreyesus.

Rafah is the last bastion of Hamas and also a place where most of the population of the Gaza Strip, which fled from other war-affected areas, has concentrated. According to estimates, 1.4 million out of 2.3 million residents of Gaza are staying in the city.