A shipment of US-made heavy bombs that had been delayed by the administration of former US President Joe Biden has arrived in Israel, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced on Sunday. According to the ministry, a vessel carrying MK-84 2,000-pound munitions docked at Ashdod Port, where the shipment was unloaded onto dozens of trucks and transported to Israeli airbases. The delivery had been held up since May 2023, when the Biden administration paused the transfer following Israel's ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. "The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF (army) and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. "I thank President Donald Trump and the US administration for their unwavering support of the State of Israel. We will continue working together to strengthen our security," he added. Since the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has received more than 76,000 tons of military equipment, transported via 678 flights and 129 ships—most of it originating from the United States, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry. The MK-84 is an unguided, high-explosive bomb weighing approximately one ton. It is designed to destroy large structures and cause extensive damage over a wide radius. These heavy bombs have been linked to the bombing of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of more than 470 people in October 2023. A ceasefire agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, halting Israel's military campaign, which has claimed the lives of more than 48,200 Palestinians—most of them women and children—and left the enclave in devastation. — Agencies
