It was “unacceptable” that the US decision to withhold some weapons from Israel became public while the two governments still were discussing Israel’s planned offensive into the Gaza city of Rafah, the Israeli envoy to Washington said on Thursday.
The US pause on some arms supplies to Israel “sends the wrong message to Hamas and to our enemies in the region,” Israeli Ambassador Michael Herzog told a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace webinar a day after US President Joe Biden warned Israel for the first time that Washington would withhold weapons if Israeli forces launch a major offensive into Rafah.