12 Jul. 24: The United States has decided to resume the shipment of 500-pound bombs to Israel, reaffirming its support for the ongoing military operations in Gaza as per a news report from Al Jazeera. This decision comes after a brief suspension in May, when Washington withheld shipments of 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs due to concerns about the impact on the southern city of Rafah, which shelters over a million displaced Palestinians.
The suspension followed significant outrage from American citizens who criticized the US government for backing Israel’s actions in Gaza, which many have described as genocidal. According to the Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA), a 500-pound bomb can cause severe harm or fatalities within a 20-meter (65-foot) blast radius, while a 2,000-pound bomb has a destruction radius of 35 meters (115 feet).
Despite the temporary halt, Israel continued to receive other types of US-made weaponry. In June, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the US of withholding weapons, President Joe Biden denied the claim and reiterated his steadfast support for Israel’s military actions.
Since the onset of Israel’s offensive in Gaza in October, the US has shipped substantial quantities of munitions to Israel. Reports indicate that at least 14,000 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, and 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs have been sent, among other munitions.
The resumption of bomb shipments is likely to increase criticism of the Biden administration for its unyielding support of Israel. The Gaza conflict has resulted in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with the Palestinian death toll surpassing 38,000, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Continuous bombardments over the past nine months have devastated Gaza’s infrastructure, exacerbating the plight of its residents.
