Biden’s arms threat to Israel ‘better than nothing’ but too late, say U.S. officials who resigned over Gaza policy

Several former Biden administration officials who resigned over the U.S. approach to Israel's deadly offensive in Gaza say they welcome President Joe Biden's threat to suspend arms shipments as a "step in the right direction."

"It’s better than nothing," said Josh Paul, who served as director of congressional and public affairs for the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs for more than 11 years before resigning in late October over what he said was the U.S.'s "blind support" of Israel.

But, he said in a phone interview with NBC News this week, "I think this comes sadly too late for 35,000, if not more people, who have been killed in Gaza — and what we really need is a new policy," adding he believes Washington needs to re-evaluate whether its security assistance to Israel is in the U.S.'s national interest.

A growing number of U.S. staffers, including officials who have worked closely on weapons trade and human rights policy, have resigned over the Biden administration's continued transfer of weapons to Israel for its war in Gaza.

The administration last week paused a weapons shipment, which included 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, according to a senior administration official, amid concerns over a Rafah assault.

But the U.S. has continued to send military assistance to Israel in the days since, with shipments including both offensive and defensive weaponry, two U.S. officials familiar with the transfers told NBC News. They said the offensive weaponry included small arms.

Hala Rharrit, a U.S. diplomat and veteran foreign service officer who resigned from the State Department last month in protest over the Biden administration's policy on Israel's assault on Gaza, reacted to the