Israel receives shipment of MK-84 bombs cleared by White House
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — MK 84 2,000-lb. general purpose bomb on display in the Southeast Asia War Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo)
JERUSALEM/WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Israel has received a shipment of heavy MK-84 bombs from the United States, after U.S. President Donald Trump lifted a block imposed on the export of the munitions by the administration of predecessor Joe Biden, the defence ministry said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said he lifted a Biden-era block on the export of the bombs to Israel despite a ceasefire agreement being in place because he believed in "peace through strength."
"They contracted for the weapons a long time ago with the Biden administration, and then Biden wouldn't deliver the weapons. But I look at it differently. I say, 'peace through strength,'" Trump told reporters after returning to West Palm Beach, Florida, after a short trip to Daytona Beach. "They were sitting there. Nobody knew what to do with them. They bought them."
The MK-84 is an unguided 2,000-pound (907-kg) bomb, which can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.
The Biden administration declined to clear them for export to Israel out of concern about the impact on densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.
The Biden administration sent thousands of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Hamas militants from Gaza but later held up one of the shipments. The hold was lifted by Trump last month.
"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," Defence Minister Israel Katz said late on Saturday.
The shipment arrived after days of concern about whether a fragile ceasefire in Gaza agreed last month would hold, after both sides accused each other of violating the terms of the deal to halt fighting to allow the exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails.
Washington has announced assistance for Israel worth billions of dollars since the war began.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie and Andrea Shalal in West Palm Beach, Florida; Editing by Kate Mayberry, Don Durfee and Lisa Shumaker)
