The United States bristled after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested it was withholding weapons to his country as it wages war against Hamas in Gaza.
“Let me just start off by saying that we genuinely do not know what he’s talking about,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
With the exception of “one particular shipment of munitions” that US officials were looking at closely, Ms Jean-Pierre said “there are no other pauses. None.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said yesterday that the US is “continuing to review one shipment… with regard to 2,000-pound bombs because of our concerns about their use in a densely populated area like Rafah”.
However, the top American diplomat claimed other weapons were moving as usual and that the US was “making sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself.”
The pointed reaction from the White House came hours after Netanyahu said Mr Blinken had assured him the US government was working “day and night” to address the delay in the arrival of the weapons.
In a video statement, Mr Netanyahu said that while he appreciated America’s support during its war on Gaza, he also said he told Mr Blinken “it’s inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel”.
The US is Israel’s main military backer, but the White House has voiced frustration over the rising civilian death toll in Gaza, where Israel has conducted more than eight months of operations against Hamas.
The 7 October attack by Palestinian militants on southern Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Hamas militants also seized 251 hostages, of whom Israel believes 116 remain in Gaza, including 41 who the army claim are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory war has killed at least 37,372 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.
