On the matter of the US suspending a weapon shipment to Israel, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told a Senate hearing that the US was reviewing “near-term security assistance” in the “context of unfolding events in Rafah”.

“We’ve been very clear…from the very beginning that Israel shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battlespace,” Reuters quoted Austin as saying.

The US decision was taken due to concerns about 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,” said a US official speaking on condition of anonymity. The US had carefully reviewed the delivery of weapons that might be used in Rafah, the official said.

The decision was made last week, US officials said. Biden was directly involved. Biden confirmed the pause personally in a CNN interview on Wednesday.