Report: Biden to Release Some Withheld Bombs to Israel

By Yoni Weiss

The Biden administration is expected to soon release 500-pound bombs from a weapons shipment to Israel that was put on hold in April due to US concerns about the IDF’s military operation in Rafah, according to one US and one Israeli official who spoke to Axios on Thursday.

Approximately 1,700 of the 500-pound bombs are expected to be delivered after Israel’s operation in Rafah concludes, which an Israeli official said is anticipated to happen in two weeks. Meanwhile, US and Israeli officials indicate that the Biden administration is still reviewing another part of the shipment, which includes 1,800 2,000-pound bombs.

In early May, Axios reported that President Joe Biden decided to pause a weapons shipment to Israel. The White House later confirmed the suspension of bomb shipments to Israel due to US opposition to a planned Israeli attack on the Gazan city of Rafah. The following day, Biden warned that he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of Rafah.

Speaking to CNN, Biden stated that while the US would continue to provide defensive weapons to Israel, including for its Iron Dome air defense system, other shipments would end if a major ground invasion of Rafah commenced.

However, The Wall Street Journal later reported that the Biden administration notified Congress of plans to proceed with more than $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel. US and Israeli officials said the release of the 500-pound bombs was discussed in meetings between Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior White House officials.

A source with direct knowledge of the meetings with Gallant said White House officials clarified that there is no hold on the 500-pound bombs and that the pause only applies to the 2,000-pound bombs. The source claimed the 500-pound bombs were never withheld as a matter of policy but became “intermingled” with the 2,000-pound bombs in the same shipment.

A US official stated that the White House’s main concern from the beginning was the Israeli use of the 2,000-pound bombs in Gaza, which the administration deemed inappropriate. The White House declined to comment.