Trump Ends Hold, Authorizes Transfer of Powerful 2,000-Pound Bombs to Israel

On Saturday night, former U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he had lifted the hold that had been placed by his successor, Joe Biden, on a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs destined for Israel. Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to share the news, stating, “A lot of things that were ordered and paid for by Israel, but have not been sent by Biden, are on their way!” However, Trump did not offer any additional specifics regarding the shipment or the reasons behind the previous delay.

On Saturday, while aboard Air Force One, former President Donald Trump told reporters that the U.S. had released the shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. He stated, “We released them today. They’ll have them. They paid for them, and they’ve been waiting for them for a long time. The bombs have been in storage.” Trump emphasized that Israel had already paid for the weapons, but they had been delayed until now.

The following Sunday, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, expressed his gratitude to Trump for lifting the hold on the shipment. On social media platform X, Sa’ar wrote, “Thank you President Trump for yet another display of leadership by releasing the crucial defense shipment to Israel. The region is safer when Israel has what it needs to defend itself.” His statement underscored the importance of the shipment in bolstering Israel’s security.

Although President Trump did not provide additional specifics, his statement could imply that more than just the 2,000-pound bombs were delayed, as suggested by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, the Biden administration has firmly stated that only the shipment of 2,000-pound bombs was held up. The delay was due to concerns over the potential use of these bombs in heavily populated areas of Gaza, a situation that could lead to significant civilian casualties. According to the administration, all other weapons shipments to Israel were processed as usual.

Over the past 15 months of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, triggered by the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, the U.S. has sent billions of dollars in military aid to Israel. However, the Biden administration has acknowledged that, as the war progressed, it slowed the process of fast-tracking weapons shipments. Instead, these transfers were subjected to the standard approval procedures, much like those for other countries, including Ukraine, which also receives U.S. military aid.

The issue of weapons shipments has sparked significant tension at various stages during the conflict. In June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to social media to express frustration with the Biden administration over what he claimed were delays in the delivery of arms to Israel. In a video, Netanyahu sharply criticized the U.S. government, stating, “It’s inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel.” He went on to emphasize Israel’s critical situation, asserting that the country, as America’s closest ally, was fighting for its survival against threats from Iran and other shared adversaries. Netanyahu’s comments highlighted the sense of urgency and frustration in Israel over the apparent holdups in military support.

The White House promptly rejected Prime Minister Netanyahu’s claims of a weapons holdup, with then-Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stating, “We genuinely do not know what [Netanyahu] is talking about. We just don’t.” The administration firmly denied any delays or withholding of arms. However, a few weeks later, a senior official within the Biden administration acknowledged that there had indeed been some unintended “bottlenecks” in the process of transferring weapons to Israel. This official clarified that the delays were not intentional and assured that efforts were being made to address and resolve the logistical issues causing the holdups.

In October, the U.S. government issued a stern warning to Israel in the form of a letter, giving Jerusalem a month to make significant progress in alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which had worsened due to the ongoing conflict. The letter stated that failure to address the crisis could lead to the U.S. withholding weapons shipments to Israel. However, this threat was never carried out, and in November, the Biden administration admitted that Israel had taken some, though not all, of the steps that had been requested. Among the actions the U.S. had been urging Israel to take were allowing at least 350 aid trucks to enter Gaza each day, implementing “adequate” humanitarian pauses during the fighting, and clarifying that there was no official Israeli policy to forcibly evacuate civilians from northern Gaza.

When Donald Trump won the presidential election in November, it notably reduced the Biden administration’s influence over Israel. With Trump’s return to office now seen as imminent, Israeli officials anticipated that any restrictions or delays on weapons shipments would likely be reversed once he resumed the presidency.

Trump’s decision to lift the hold on the 2,000-pound bomb shipment comes shortly after the U.S. State Department froze new funding for nearly all foreign assistance programs. However, military aid to both Israel and Egypt was exempt from this freeze, allowing those shipments to continue without interruption.