Israel has received a shipment of heavy MK-84 bombs from the United States, after US President Donald Trump lifted a block imposed on the export of the munitions by the administration of predecessor Joe Biden, Israeli defence ministry said yesterday.
The MK-84 is an unguided 2,000 pound 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 October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas 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.
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.
An Israeli air strike killed three Palestinian police officers east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said, calling it a breach of the fragile ceasefire that took effect on January 19.
Palestinian officials said Israel was also violating the truce terms by blocking the entry of equipment to clear the rubble and shelters for displaced people in the enclave. Patients were also being stopped from leaving for hospital treatment in Egypt, they said.
The Interior Ministry said the three policemen who were killed had been deployed to the area to secure the entry of aid trucks into Gaza.
“The ministry ... condemns this crime and calls upon the mediators and the international community to compel the occupation to stop targeting the police force, which is a civil apparatus,” it said in a statement.
Israel’s military said the strike had targeted several armed individuals who were moving towards Israeli forces deployed nearby and ‘hits were identified’.
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