WASHINGTON — The Biden administration paused a planned shipment to Israel of air-to-ground munitions last week over concerns that Israeli leaders were nearing a decision to launch a military incursion into Rafah without adequate preparations to protect civilians, a senior Biden administration official confirmed to Al-Monitor.

The decision to pause the single shipment, which contains 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, marks the first known instance of the Biden administration leveraging the flow of US weaponry to Israel in an attempt to shape its war campaign in Gaza, now in its seventh month.

The move came just days before Israeli leaders launched what appeared to be the opening moves of an incursion into Rafah on Monday, signaling defiance in the face of pressure from Washington and its allies.

US officials have not issued a final decision on the shipment of the air-to-ground bombs, according to the senior administration official. The Biden administration has also placed other planned arms shipments, including Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kits, under review, though none of those transfers are imminent, the official said.

Why it matters: Biden administration officials have been pressing Israeli leaders not to launch a major ground invasion of Rafah without first facilitating the safe evacuation of some 1.4 million civilians who have sought shelter there.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to draw up plans to evacuate Rafah's civilian population in early February, but Pentagon and White House officials said that as of Tuesday, they have not seen a realistic Israeli........

© Al Monitor