Following a hiatus due to worries that 2,000-pound weapons in the same shipment could be used in populated areas, the US is “moving forward” with supplying 500-pound bombs to Israel, a US official said on Thursday.
When it seemed like Israel was about to execute a significant land operation in Rafah, southern Gaza, which the US government vehemently opposed, Washington stopped the bomb shipment in early May. Israel eventually launched a more restricted incursion in place of the planned major ground operation.
Under condition of anonymity, the US source stated, “We’ve been clear that our concern has been on the end-use of the 2,000-pound bombs, particularly in advance of Israel’s Rafah campaign which they have announced they are concluding.”
“Because of how these shipments are put together, other munitions may sometimes be co-mingled. That’s what happened here with the 500-pound bombs,” the official said, adding: “Because our concern was not about the 500-pound bombs, those are moving forward as part of the usual process.”
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, publicly charged last month that President Joe Biden’s administration was delaying Israel’s arms supply. Israel and Hamas have been at war in Gaza since October 7.
The US government refuted the allegations, claiming that just one bomb shipment was impacted. Later, the two parties indicated that they were making headway toward mending their differences.
At a press conference on Thursday, Biden declared that Israel will not receive the 2,000-pound bombs.
“I’m not providing the 2,000-pound bombs. They cannot be used in Gaza or any populated area without causing great human tragedy and damage,” the president said.
Although the United States is Israel’s primary military ally, the White House has expressed dissatisfaction with the increasing number of civilian casualties in Gaza, where Israel has been fighting Hamas for more than nine months.
1,195 people, largely civilians, lost their lives in the battle that began on October 7 when Palestinian terrorists launched an unprecedented offensive on southern Israel, according to an AFP count based on Israeli statistics.
In addition, the terrorists took over 116 hostages, 42 of whom the military claims are dead, and left in Gaza.
Based on figures from the Gaza health ministry, Israel’s counteroffensive to destroy Hamas has killed at least 38,345 individuals, the majority of whom were civilians.
