Since October 7, the United States has sent thousands of 2,000-year-old bombs to Israel
WASHINGTON: Since the start of the Gaza war, the Biden administration has shipped large amounts of munitions to Israel, including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles, said two U.S. officials briefed on the shipment’s updated weapons list.
Since the war broke out last October and into recent days, the United States has delivered at least 14,000 2,000-pound MK-84 bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-busting bombs, air-dropped bombs, 2,600 small-diameter bombs and other munitions, according to the officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Although officials did not provide an exact delivery schedule, the data shows there has been no significant decline in U.S. military support for the ally, despite international calls to limit weapons supplies and the administration’s recent decision to halt deliveries of the powerful bombs.
Experts said the contents of the shipments appear to be in line with what Israel would need to replenish supplies used in the eight-month intense military campaign in Gaza that it launched after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. according to Israeli data.
“While these numbers could be released relatively quickly in the event of a major conflict, this list clearly reflects the significant level of U.S. support for our Israeli allies,” said Tom Karako, a weapons expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, adding that the munitions listed is the type of ammunition that Israel will use in the fight against Hamas or in a potential conflict with Hezbollah.
The shipment figures, which have not been previously reported, provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive tally of ammunition shipped to Israel since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since the beginning of the Gaza war, with fears growing that an all-out war could break out between the two sides.
The White House declined to comment. The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The shipments are part of a larger list of weapons sent to Israel since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza, one U.S. official said. A senior Biden administration official told reporters on Wednesday that Washington has sent Israel $6.5 billion in security aid since Oct. 7.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in recent weeks claimed that Washington is holding back arms deliveries, something U.S. officials have repeatedly denied, although they have acknowledged some bottlenecks.
The Biden administration has halted the shipment of one 2,000-pound bomb, citing concerns about the impact it could have on densely populated areas of Gaza, but U.S. officials insist all other weapons shipments continue as normal. One 2,000-pound bomb can tear apart thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.
Reuters reported on Thursday that the United States was in talks with Israel about releasing a shipment of large bombs whose delivery was suspended in May over concerns about the Rafah military operation.
International scrutiny of Israel’s military operation in Gaza has intensified as the death toll from the war in Palestine has surpassed 37,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry, leaving the coastal enclave in ruins.
Washington gives its longtime ally $3.8 billion a year in military aid. Although Biden has warned that he would place conditions on military aid unless Israel protects civilians and authorize more humanitarian aid to Gaza, he has not done so beyond delaying the May delivery.
Biden’s support for Israel in its war on Hamas has become a political liability, especially among young Democrats as he seeks reelection this year, fueling a wave of “undecided” protest votes in primaries and leading to pro-Palestinian protests on American universities.
While the United States has provided detailed descriptions and amounts of military aid sent to Ukraine as part of the fight against a full-scale invasion of Russia, the administration has released few details about the full scope of American weapons and munitions sent to Israel.
The shipments are also difficult to track because some of the weapons are shipped as part of arms sales approved by Congress years ago but are only now being implemented.
One U.S. official said the Pentagon has enough weapons in its own warehouses and that it is working with U.S. industrial partners that make the weapons, such as Boeing Co. and General Dynamics, as the companies work to increase production.