The Biden administration has sent a massive amount of weapons to Israel since the war in Gaza began, including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles, two US officials familiar with the updated list of weapons shipments said.
Between the start of the war last October and recent days, the United States has transferred 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, 2,600 air-dropped small diameter bombs and other munitions, according to the officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Although officials did not give a timeline for the shipment, the overall results suggest there has been no significant drop in U.S. military support for its ally, despite international calls to limit arms supplies and a recent administration decision to halt shipments of the powerful bombs.
Experts said the contents of these shipments appeared to be consistent with Israel’s need to replenish supplies used in its eight-month-long intense military campaign in Gaza, which was launched after a Palestinian Hamas offensive on October 7 that left 1,200 people dead and 250 others taken hostage, according to Israeli figures.
“While these numbers could be expended relatively quickly in a major conflict, this list clearly demonstrates the substantial level of support the United States has for our Israeli allies,” said Tom Karako, a weapons expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He added that the weapons listed are the type Israel would use in a fight against Hamas or in a potential conflict with Hezbollah.
The delivery numbers, which have not been previously reported, provide the most up-to-date and comprehensive count of weapons sent to Israel since the Gaza war began.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been exchanging gunfire since the start of the Gaza war, and concerns are growing that a full-blown 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.
One of the US officials said these shipments are part of a larger list of weapons sent to Israel since the Gaza conflict began. On Wednesday, a senior Biden administration official told reporters that Washington had sent weapons worth $6.5 billion to Israel since October 7.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed in recent weeks that Washington is withholding weapons, a claim US officials have repeatedly denied even though they have acknowledged some “constraints”.
The Biden administration has halted a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs, citing concerns about their impact on densely populated areas of Gaza, but US officials say all other weapons deliveries will continue as normal. A 2,000-pound bomb can rip through thick concrete and metal, giving it a huge blast radius.
The United States is in discussions with Israel about releasing a shipment of large bombs that was postponed in May because of concerns about the military operation in Rafah, Reuters reported on Thursday.
International scrutiny of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has intensified, as the number of Palestinians killed in the war has risen to more than 37,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and the coastal zone has been devastated.
Washington gives its old ally $3.8 billion in military aid annually. While Biden has warned he would place conditions on military aid if Israel fails to protect civilians and allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, he has not done so beyond delaying the May shipment.
Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas has emerged as a political liability, especially among young Democrats as he runs for re-election this year. It fueled a wave of “uncommitted” protest votes in the primaries and sparked pro-Palestinian protests at American universities.
While the United States has provided detailed details and volumes of military aid sent to Ukraine for a full-scale invasion of Russia, the administration has provided scant details about the full volume of American weapons and munitions sent to Israel.
These shipments are also difficult to track, as some of the weapons were sent as part of arms sales approved by Congress years ago but are only now being completed.
A U.S. official said the Pentagon has ample supplies and is in touch with U.S. weapons-making industrial partners such as Boeing Co. and General Dynamics as they work to build more warheads.
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