Israel-Hamas War and Gaza Cease-Fire Talks: Live Updates

“It’s pent-up frustration on Biden’s part, which eventually broke,” said Chuck Freilich, a former deputy national security adviser in Israel, on Wednesday. “The administration has been walking a tightrope between its very strong support for Israel and domestic pressure.”

This week in particular, two opposing elements of President Biden’s approach to military support for Israel are converging and competing for global attention.

With his approval of fresh U.S. aid involving weapons and equipment worth $827 million — along with an assertive speech against antisemitism at a Holocaust remembrance service — President Biden has made clear that he remains deeply committed to Israel.

At the same time, he has signaled that there are limits to American aid and patience, suspending delivery of the heaviest of munitions — 1,800 2,000-pound and 1,700 500-pound bombs — over concerns they will be used in a possible full-scale assault on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

On Monday, Israel’s military warned about 110,000 civilians to leave eastern Rafah, and hours later its tanks moved in, taking over the Gaza side of the city’s border crossing with Egypt. Half a day after that move, which fell short of a full invasion but suggested one could be imminent, the White House confirmed it was holding up the bomb deliveries.

Israeli officials mostly accentuated America’s long-term support and ignored the pause in deliveries of weapons.

Speaking at a conference Tuesday night hosted by a local newspaper, the military’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, described coordination between Israel and the United States as reaching “a scope without precedent,” while insisting that any disagreements were handled “behind closed doors.”

Sidestepping questions about the airing of American frustrations and the potential risk to future arms shipments, he stressed the importance of day-to-day coordination and “operational assistance.”

Online, some supporters of a more muscular attack on Hamas in Rafah insisted that the United States had no right to withhold weapons to shape how Israel fights. But for now, the holdup is not likely to seriously hamper Israel’s war effort, according to military analysts.

Israel has a large arsenal to draw on and many options for how to proceed in Gaza that would not necessarily include the bombs Washington has not yet sent.

Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat, said that the U.S. decision was motivated by skyrocketing American frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as pressure from some Congressional Democrats to more closely supervise Israel’s use of U.S. arms. And, he added, it was an attempt to warn Israel that more consequences could be in the offing.

“The logic behind this is a warning: If you don’t get your act together, there’s a lot more obstructions that could happen,” Mr. Pinkas said.

Matan Kahana, a lawmaker from the party of Benny Gantz, a former general and Mr. Netanyahu’s top political rival, said in an interview on Israel’s Army Radio on Wednesday that, if nothing else, the decision underscored Israel’s dependence on American munitions.

He called them “the bread and butter of our fighting, both throughout the current war and the future.”

Losing continued access to even some American weapons, he added, would be “very grave.” He put the blame on a government that has repeatedly rebuffed American demands, which have included calls for greater protection of civilians and prioritizing a plan for governing Gaza after the fighting stops.

“Given the way that the prime minister and some ministers are antagonizing Biden and the United States,” he said, “it’s no wonder that these kinds of things are happening.”

Mr. Freilich, a frequent critic of the government, also called the weapons pause significant. He argued that Israel’s operations in Gaza had become more precise in recent months.

But he said that Biden’s hold on the delivery of thousands of large bombs served as a reminder to Israeli officials: There is only so much that even a strong supporter can take. While the United States may not have a major problem with the limited operations occurring in Rafah now, Mr. Freilich said, the timing of confirmation about the weapons seemed to be aimed at two particular audiences.

“They are sending the message to Bibi to continue, not expand the operation in Rafah,” Mr. Freilich said. “And they’re sending the message to the American electorate that we’re doing something.”

Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.