US says hold on weapons delivery won’t be a one-off if Israel presses ahead with Rafah city offensive – as it happened

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• US signals to Israel more arms shipments could be paused over Rafah offensive
• Analysis: Biden seeks to pull rank in US-Israel relationship - a trial of strength beckons

Following the Biden administration's decision to pause a weapons shipment to Israel over its plans for a Rafah invasion, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said:

Given the unprecedented humanitarian disaster that Netanyahu's war has created in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of children face starvation, President Biden is absolutely right to halt bomb delivery to this extreme, rightwing Israeli government. But this must be a first step.

The US must now use ALL its leverage to demand an immediate ceasefire, the end of the attacks on Rafah, and the immediate delivery of massive amounts of humanitarian aid to people living in desperation. Our leverage is clear. Over the years, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. We can no longer be complicit in Netanyahu's horrific war against the Palestinian people.