US resumes bomb deliveries to Israel after suspension - Reuters
US President Joe Biden (Phoro: Getty Images)
The Biden administration will resume the supply of 500-pound aerial bombs to Israel but will continue to refrain from supplying 2000-pound bombs due to concerns about their use in densely populated Gaza, according to Reuters.
"We've been clear that our concern has been on the end-use of the 2,000-lb bombs, particularly for Israel's Rafah campaign, which they have announced they are concluding," said a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A 2000-pound aerial bomb can penetrate thick concrete and metal, creating a large blast radius.
According to the US official, 500-pound bombs were sent in the same shipment as the larger ones, which were paused and thus delayed.
"Our main concern had been and remains the potential use of 2,000 lb bombs in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza ... Because our concern was not about the 500 lb bombs, those are moving forward as part of the usual process," the official added.
The US informed Israel that they are sending 500-pound bombs but withholding the larger ones, said a person familiar with the matter.
Background
In early May, US President Joe Biden decided to suspend a shipment of arms to Israel, which included aerial bombs. Afterward, the United States confirmed that the transfer of a batch of weapons, which included 1800 2000-pound and 1700 500-pound bombs, was halted due to concerns about a possible Israeli operation in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where over a million Palestinians are sheltered.
Later, Biden stated that if Israel invaded Rafah, the US would stop supplying it with artillery shells, fighter jet bombs, and other offensive weapons.
For more details, read the RBC-Ukraine article.
