Israel’s Netanyahu blames Biden for withholding weapons. US officials say that’s not the whole story

By JULIA FRANKEL and DREW CALLISTER
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is claiming that the United States is withholding weapons needed for the war in Gaza. In a video released Tuesday, Netanyahu implied the holdup was slowing Israel’s offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. President Joe Biden has delayed delivering certain heavy bombs to Israel since May over concerns about killing civilians in Gaza. However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that those 2,000-pound bombs are the only weapons under review. He told reporters that “Everything else is moving as it normally would.” The U.S. faces growing international criticism for its support of Israel’s war against Hamas, which according to Gaza’s Health Ministry has killed more than 37,100 people.