IDF spokesman plays down US arms shipment holdup, says disagreements resolved privately

The Israel Defense Forces appeared Wednesday to minimize the seemingly unprecedented holdup of an arms shipment by a US administration concerned by the prospect of a major Israeli operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, saying the allies resolve any disagreements “behind closed doors.” Asked about the issue at a Tel Aviv conference hosted by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari described coordination between Israel and the United States as reaching “a scope without precedent, I think, in Israel’s history.” Pressed about the stalled delivery of heavy bombs, Hagari said, “We are responsible for the security interests of Israel and we pay attention to the US interests in the arena.” He lauded the scale of cooperation between IDF headquarters and the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) during the war, saying “there is something more important than security assistance and that is operational support.” The Biden administration on Tuesday confirmed reports that it had recently held up a large shipment of 2,000- and 500-pound bombs that it feared Israel might use in a looming major ground operation in the densely populated southern Gaza city of Rafah. Hagari acknowledged the challenges facing a major Rafah offensive, explaining that it was not begun months ago because the “operational conditions” were not in place due to the multitudes of Gazans who have sought refuge in the city and its surroundings. Rafah, he said, “is not as important as Khan Younis and northern Gaza,” referring to another areas of the Gaza Strip that the IDF has already operated in. “We will deal with Rafah in a way that is right for us,” Hagari said and warned that “even after we deal with Rafah, there will be terrorism. Hamas will move north and try to regroup, even in the coming days. Wherever Hamas returns to, both in the north and in the center of the Strip, we will return to action.”