Blinken reassures Israel that weapon shipments are going normally after Netanyahu criticism

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that weapons shipments to the U.S. ally was going as scheduled, after he accused the U.S. of delaying the military aid.

The U.S. did halt one shipment of bombs to Israel last month, out of concern that the weapons would be used in highly populated areas like Rafah. But all other shipments have continued as normal, Blinken said, per Politico.

“We, as you know, are continuing to review one shipment that President Biden has talked about with regard to 2,000-pound bombs because of our concerns about their use in a densely populated area like Rafah," Blinken said in a press conference. “But everything else is moving as it normally would move ... with the perspective of making sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against this multiplicity of challenges."

The comment comes after Netanyahu blasted the Biden administration for the slow shipments in a video message posted to X on Tuesday morning. 

“It's inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel,” Netanyahu said. “Secretary Blinken assured me that the administration is working day and night to remove these bottlenecks. I certainly hope that’s the case. It should be the case.”

The White House backed up Blinken's response, claiming that it "genuinely [doesn't] know" what Netanyahu was referring to. 

The exchange occurred amid a period of heightened tension between Israel and the U.S. over the war with Hamas, which the Biden administration has pressed Israel to end quickly with a permanent ceasefire agreement.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.