The United States has suspended a shipment of high-payload munitions to Israel. The decision was announced by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

The move comes in response to Israel's offensive on Rafah, which was carried out without Washington's approval.

Austin emphasized that the US had been clear from the start that Israel should not launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians in the area. As a result of the situation assessment, the US has decided to pause the shipment of high payload munitions. A final determination on how to proceed with the shipment is yet to be made.

It's important to note that US arms and bombs have been used over the past seven months, resulting in the death of more than 34,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children.

Earlier this week, the Israeli war cabinet decided to proceed with the invasion of Rafah, despite Hamas agreeing to a proposed ceasefire agreement. This decision was made despite Washington's warnings that it would halt military assistance to the Israeli regime if it invaded Rafah without a proper plan to protect Gaza's civilians.

The decision to proceed with the invasion has sparked global outrage, as Rafah is considered a crucial refuge for internally displaced persons by many international humanitarian organizations.

Since the start of the aggression, the area east of Rafah has experienced heavy artillery shelling and intense gunfire from helicopters. Israeli warplanes have also reportedly fired phosphorus bombs. (ILKHA)