Newly-elected US President Donald Trump has lifted the previous halt on the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, driving forward his pro-Israel stance and saying Tel Aviv deserves the bombs “because they bought them”.
Last year, former President Joe Biden put on hold the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel over concerns surrounding the damage and atrocities they could cause to Gaza’s civilian population – particularly in the Strip’s southern area of Rafah – amid Israeli forces’ ongoing genocide in the Palestinian Territory.
That decision, which sparked outcry in Israel and amongst pro-Israel elements within the US, came after months of his administration having sent thousands of 2,000-pound bombs to Israeli forces since its offensive on Gaza began in October 2023.
President Trump has now lifted that halt, however, telling reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday that he instructed the US military to release that hold on the delivery. “We released them [the bombs]. We released them today. And they’ll have them. They paid for them and they’ve been waiting for them for a long time. They’ve been in storage.”
When asked why he released those bombs – which leave a massive impact by ripping through metal and concrete while having a wide blast radius that can easily harm civilians – Trump responded, “because they [Israel] bought them”.