The United States halted a large shipment of offensive weapons to Israel last week in a sign of its growing concern over a possible military offensive on Rafah, senior administration officials told NBC News.
The decision comes as President Joe Biden pushes for Israel and Hamas to compromise and reach a cease-fire deal that would head off a large-scale assault on the city in southern Gaza, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering in dire conditions.
The Israeli military said it had reopened a key border crossing Wednesday following pressure from Washington, a day after its ground forces seized control of the Gaza side of another crossing — a move that fueled fears aid supplies would be delayed coming into the enclave, but which U.S. officials said was a limited operation and not the full-scale assault Biden has warned against.
The Israeli military appeared to play down the dispute, with a spokesman saying Wednesday that the two allies would resolve any disagreements "behind closed doors."
But an Israeli official told NBC News there is deep frustration in the Israeli government over the decision. The official added that tensions had already been running high after Israel felt the U.S. allowed it to be blindsided by Hamas’ announcement this week that it was accepting a version of a cease-fire proposal.
