The United States has paused a large shipment of weapons to Israel, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday, amid ongoing concerns in Washington about Israeli military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. “We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to support Israel,” Austin said, calling Washington’s security commitment “ironclad.” However, he said that “one shipment of high-payload munitions” had been halted, publicly confirming reports this week in US media, and that other pending near-term assistance was being assessed. Across Washington, State Department spokesman M…