The United States has freed up the previously delayed 500-pound bombs the Biden administration had denied Israel the past two months, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The bombs were initially delayed in an effort to reduce civilian casualties, but on Wednesday a U.S. official said the weapons "are in the process of being shipped." Heavier 2,000 pound bombs are still on hold according to the official.
In June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video where he called out the Biden administration for withholding weapons shipments from Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken dismissed Netanyahu's charges and said, "Everything is moving as it normally would."
Netanyahu said that he is confident they can "finish the job" if they get the weapons they need. Once that happens, he said a civilian government in Gaza is critical to a sustained peace in the region but will need to come "with assistance by Arab countries."
"Our main concern had been and remains the potential use of 2,000-pound bombs in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza," a U.S. official said in a statement. "Because our concern was not about the 500-pound bombs, those are moving forward as part of the usual process."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.