(240508) -- WASHINGTON, May 8, 2024 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense in Washington, D.C., the United States, on May 8, 2024. The United States has withheld one shipment of near-term weapons aid to Israel due to "serious concerns" that a looming large-scale military operation in Rafah by Israeli forces would cause significant loss of civilian lives, the State Department said on Wednesday. Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told senators on Capitol Hill as he testified on the Pentagon's fiscal year 2025 budget proposal that the Pentagon is "going to continue to do what's necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself." "But that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah," he added. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)