YEREVAN, MAY 8, ARMENPRESS. The United States paused a shipment of bombs to Israel amid concerns over their potential use in a Rafah incursion, CNN reports citing a US official.

The shipment, which was held back last week, includes 1,800 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds (900 kg) and 1,700 bombs weighing 500 pounds (225 kg).

“We are especially focused on the end-use of the 2,000-pound bombs and the impact they could have in dense urban settings as we have seen in other parts of Gaza,” the official said.

Israeli leaders have warned for weeks that an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah will occur at some point in the future, even as the US and others have publicly stated that such a ground operation should not occur, the report adds. US President Joe Biden’s administration has called for a comprehensive plan to protect more than a million civilians sheltering in Rafah and avoid an expansion of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the coastal enclave.

On Monday, Israel carried out what the US described as a “limited” operation in Rafah, taking over the border crossing with Egypt that is a vital lifeline for humanitarian aid. On Tuesday morning Israel Defense Forces took over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, IDF said in a statement. The Israeli army had told Palestinians to evacuate parts of Rafah ahead of an expected assault.