US President Donald Trump lifted the restrictions imposed by former President Joe Biden on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, removing a measure aimed at reducing civilian casualties during Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Trump on Saturday posted on Truth Social, stating that, “A lot of things that were ordered and paid for by Israel, but have not been sent by Biden, are now on their way!”
Speaking about the bombs on Air Force One, Trump stated, “They’ve been waiting for them for a long time. You know, they’ve been in storage for a long time and we released them today to Israel.”
Biden had delayed the delivery of these large bombs in May to prevent Israel from carrying out a full-scale assault on Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, the Associated Press reported.
But a month later, Israel gained control of Rafah after the majority of its one million residents and displaced individuals had evacuated.
Biden had told CNN in the month of May that, “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers. I made it clear that if they go into Rafah. I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities that deal with that problem.”
Biden administration’s pause had also delayed the delivery of 1,700 500-pound bombs included in the same shipment to Israel, but those bombs were ultimately delivered weeks later.
This decision, made five days into Trump’s presidency, coincides with the initial phase of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, which has temporarily stopped the fighting and facilitated the exchange of Hamas-held hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
Discussions regarding the more challenging second phase, aimed at releasing all hostages and establishing a lasting peace, have yet to commence properly.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has warned that it will resume its military campaign against Hamas, which launched a large-scale attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, if the remaining hostages are not released.
