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Israel has been downplaying the United States\u2019 decision to withhold delivery<\/a> of some 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs, insisting that the deep relationship would outlast the tensions. But analysts said both the pause and the timing of its confirmation from the White House on Tuesday showed that the U.S.-Israel relationship is facing strains in a new way, with more ruptures possibly to come.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pent-up frustration on Biden\u2019s part, which eventually broke,\u201d said Chuck Freilich, a former deputy national security adviser in Israel, on Wednesday. \u201cThe administration has been walking a tightrope between its very strong support for Israel and domestic pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n This week in particular, two opposing elements of President Biden\u2019s approach to military support for Israel are converging and competing for global attention.<\/p>\n With his approval of fresh U.S. aid involving weapons and equipment worth $827 million \u2014 along with an assertive speech<\/a> against antisemitism at a Holocaust remembrance service \u2014 President Biden has made clear that he remains deeply committed to Israel.<\/p>\n At the same time, he has signaled that there are limits to American aid and patience, suspending delivery of the heaviest of munitions \u2014 1,800 2,000-pound and 1,700 500-pound bombs \u2014 over concerns about seeing them used during a possible full-scale assault on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. <\/p>\n This week, Israel\u2019s military warned about 110,000 civilians to flee eastern Rafah, and its tanks moved in, taking over the Gaza side of the city\u2019s border crossing with Egypt. Half a day after that move, which fell far short of a full invasion, while suggesting it could be imminent, the White House confirmed the pause in bomb deliveries.<\/p>\n Israeli officials mostly promoted the former and ignored the latter.<\/p>\n Speaking at a conference Tuesday night hosted by a local newspaper, the military\u2019s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, described coordination between Israel and the United States as reaching \u201ca scope without precedent,\u201d while insisting that any disagreements were handled \u201cbehind closed doors.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201coperational assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s war effort, according to military analysts.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s use of U.S. arms<\/a>. And, he added, it was an attempt to warn Israel that more consequences could be in the offing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe logic behind this is a warning: If you don\u2019t get your act together, there\u2019s a lot more obstructions that could happen,\u201d Mr. Pinkas said.<\/p>\n Matan Kahana, a lawmaker from the party of Benny Gantz, a former general and Mr. Netanyahu\u2019s top political rival, said in an interview on Israel\u2019s Army Radio on Wednesday that, if nothing else, the decision underscored Israel\u2019s dependence on American munitions.<\/p>\n He called them \u201cthe bread and butter of our fighting, both throughout the current war and the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Losing continued access to even some American weapons, he added, would be \u201cvery grave.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven the way that the prime minister and some ministers are antagonizing Biden and the United States,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s no wonder that these kinds of things are happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Freilich, a frequent critic of the government, also called the weapons pause significant. He argued that Israel\u2019s operations in Gaza had become more precise in recent months.<\/p>\n But he said that Biden\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are sending the message to Bibi to continue, not expand the operation in Rafah,\u201d Mr. Freilich said. \u201cAnd they\u2019re sending the message to the American electorate that we\u2019re doing something.\u201d<\/p>\n Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.<\/p>\n