The heavy precision-guided bombs that then-President Joe Biden withheld from Israel last year arrived in Israel on Saturday night after being released by President Donald Trump.
Biden withheld the bombs in retaliation for Israel attacking Hamas in Rafah, a southern Gaza city on the border with Egypt, where Israel eventually found and killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Relatively few civilians were killed in the attack, despite the warnings of the Biden administration.
The bombs are used for destroying buildings where terrorists are hiding; the alternative is to send Israeli troops into the buildings, which are often booby-trapped. Dozens of Israeli soldiers were killed by collapsing buildings in Gaza.
In a press statement, Israel’s defense ministry said:
In a joint operation led by the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) Mission to the United States and the International Transportation Authority Unit of the Ministry’s Defense Procurement Directorate (DPD), a shipment of heavy aerial bombs recently released by the U.S. government was received and unloaded overnight (Saturday) in Israel.
The vessel, carrying heavy MK-84 munitions, docked and was unloaded at the Port of Ashdod. The munitions were loaded onto dozens of trucks from the Transportation Unit of the Ministry’s Logistics and Assets Department and the IDF’s Technological and Logistics Directorate and transferred to Israeli Air Force bases.
The IMOD continues to procure and transport munitions for the IDF. To date, over 76,000 tons of military equipment have arrived in Israel via 678 airlifts and 129 sea shipments. This represents the largest air and sea bridge in Israel’s history.
Defense Minister, Israel Katz: “The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump Administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States.
In our recent conversation, Secretary of Defense, HON Pete Hegseth reaffirmed America’s commitment to continue providing Israel with all necessary tools to ensure its security.
I thank President Donald Trump and the U.S. Administration for their unwavering support of the State of Israel. We will continue working together to strengthen our security.”
Biden also withheld other equipment, such as D-9 bulldozers, which have since been delivered to the Israeli military.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
