"This is a very harsh and disappointing statement by a president to whom we have been grateful since the beginning of the war," Gilad Erdan, referring to US leader Joe Biden, told Israeli public radio.

"It is clear that any pressure on Israel, any limitation that is imposed on it, even by close allies who are concerned about our interests, is interpreted by our enemies" and "gives them hope," he added.

The US government confirmed on Wednesday that it had withheld a shipment of weapons to Israel, one of Biden's measures to influence Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"At this time, we are reviewing some security assistance deliveries in light of the current situation on the ground in Rafah," Pentagon chief General Lloyd Austin told a Senate subcommittee.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East estimated that about 1.5 million Palestinians displaced by the Israeli offensive against the Islamist movement Hamas are currently living in Rafah.

"We would prefer to avoid a significant conflict in Rafah, but our main focus is to ensure the protection of civilians," added Lloyd Austin, reiterating the position that the US has defended for weeks.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller went further and announced that the US is considering withholding further arms shipments to Israel.

This was a decision that progressive sectors of the Democratic Party, who oppose Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, had been demanding from Biden for weeks.

About 40 congressmen, joined by Nancy Pelosi, former speaker of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the United States parliament, have been asking Biden to take this measure for a month.

The appeal came after an Israeli attack killed seven aid workers from the non-governmental organization World Central Kitchen.

The Pentagon chief did not give details about the contents of the withheld shipment, although he said it was "high-caliber ammunition".

According to CNN, it is a package of 3,500 bombs, of which 1,800 weigh 2,000 pounds and 1,700 weigh 500 pounds.

The US is particularly concerned about the possibility of Israel using the heaviest bombs in densely populated areas.

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