Humeira Pamuk and Mike Stone
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Since the start of the Gaza war, the Biden administration has sent large quantities of munitions to Israel, including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles, two U.S. officials briefed on the update said. list of weapons supplies.
From the start of the war last October until its final days, the United States transferred at least 14,000 2,000-pound MK-84 bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision air-to-surface missiles, and 1,000 bunker busting bombs. bombs, 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs and other munitions, according to officials who were not authorized to speak publicly.
While officials did not provide a timetable for the delivery, the final data suggests there has been no significant reduction in U.S. military support to its ally, despite international calls to curb arms sales and the administration’s recent decision to halt shipments of high-powered weapons. bombs.
Experts said the contents of the shipments matched what Israel would need to replenish supplies used in this eight-month intensive military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which it launched after an Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people and captured another 250. hostage, according to Israeli information.
“While these numbers could be spent relatively quickly in the event of a major conflict, this list clearly reflects the significant level of United States support for our Israeli allies,” said Tom Karako, a weapons expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, adding. that the munitions listed are of the type that Israel would use in the fight against Hamas or in a potential conflict with Hezbollah.
The shipment data, which has not previously been reported, represents the most current and extensive information on ammunition shipped to Israel since the start of the Gaza war.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been exchanging fire since the start of the Gaza war, and there is growing concern that a full-scale war could break out between the two sides.
The White House declined to comment. The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The shipments are part of a broader list of weapons sent to Israel since the start of the Gaza conflict, one US official said. A senior Biden administration official told reporters on Wednesday that Washington has sent $6.5 billion in security aid to Israel since Oct. 7.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said in recent weeks that Washington is holding back the weapons. US officials have repeatedly denied this claim, although they have acknowledged some bottlenecks.
The Biden administration has suspended one delivery of a 2,000-pound bomb, citing concerns about the impact it could have on densely populated areas of Gaza, but U.S. officials insist all other weapons shipments will continue as normal. A single 2,000-pound bomb can penetrate thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.
Reuters reported on Thursday that the United States was discussing with Israel the release of a batch of large bombs that was suspended in May over concerns about the military operation in Rafah.
International attention to Israel’s military operation in Gaza has intensified as the war’s Palestinian death toll tops 37,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and the coastal enclave remains in ruins.
Washington provides its longtime ally with $3.8 billion in military aid annually. Although Biden warned that he would impose conditions on military aid if Israel failed to protect civilians and did not allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, he did not do so beyond delaying the May delivery.
Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas has become a political liability, especially among young Democrats as he runs for re-election this year. This sparked a wave of “no strings attached” protest voting in the primaries and sparked pro-Palestinian protests at US universities.
While the United States has provided detailed descriptions and amounts of military aid sent to Ukraine as it fought the full-scale invasion of Russia, the administration has revealed few details about the full volume of American weapons and ammunition sent to Israel.
The shipments are also difficult to track because some of the weapons come as part of arms sales approved by Congress years ago but only now being implemented.
One U.S. official said the Pentagon has enough weapons in its own stockpile and is in touch with U.S. industry partners that produce the weapons, such as Boeing (NYSE:) Co and General Dynamics (NYSE:), as the companies operate. produce more.
(This story has been corrected to correct reference to $6.5 billion in U.S. “security assistance” to Israel instead of “weapons” in paragraph 9)