Skip to content Skip to footer

Biden Releasing Part of Bombs Shipment to Israel That Was Paused Over Rafah Raid

The administration appears to have totally thrown away its “red line” on Rafah, two months into the invasion.

Smoke rises over the Gaza Strip after an Israeli bombardment as seen from the Israeli side of the border on June 24, 2024, in Southern Israel, Israel.

The Biden administration is releasing part of a shipment of bombs that was suspended due to supposed concerns over Israel’s invasion of Rafah — nearly two months into Israeli forces’ Rafah raid that U.S. officials once said they sought to prevent.

Axios reported on Thursday, citing an Israeli official, that the administration is expected to deliver 1,700 500 pound-bombs to Israel in two weeks when, the official claimed, Israeli forces would draw down their invasion of Rafah. Since the invasion, Israeli forces have turned southern Gaza into a ghost town and taken over much of the city through forced displacement and mass violence.

The bombs, which have enormous destructive power, had been put on hold as U.S. officials “reviewed” the shipment – after President Joe Biden pledged to withhold some bombs to Israel over concerns that they would be used in densely populated civilian centers in Rafah.

For months, Biden and his administration had warned that an invasion of Rafah would be a “red line” that Israel must not cross. Yet, the administration has not made any substantial changes to its support of Israel since May, as Israel has undertaken a horrific siege of Rafah, part of which was a major escalation of its already devastating humanitarian aid blockade.

Rather, the Biden administration has continued to double down on its total fealty to Israel. In May alone, it approved $3 billion in military assistance to Israel, while Biden has continued to run diplomatic cover for Israel.

U.S. and Israeli officials have been discussing the pause on the shipment of 1,800 2,000 pound bombs that are reportedly still on hold, although the U.S. has continued to funnel other types of weapons to Israel. Officials told Axios that the only reason the 500 pound bombs were paused to begin with was that they were intermingled in the shipment of 2,000 pound bombs that was put on hold.

In other words, the administration appears to have totally thrown away its “red line” on Rafah by giving Israel the go-ahead to continue using its bombs to massacre civilians in Gaza and beyond – with the exception of the one shipment of 2,000 pound bombs — of which the U.S. has already sent thousands since October.

The 500 pound bombs will be released at a time when international leaders are expecting a full-on war between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon — a war that would, like Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, be carried out using U.S. weapons. In fact, the continuation of U.S. weapons shipments to Israel despite its horrific campaign of extermination in Gaza is the reason why U.S. officials have said that they are doubtful Biden could even stop Israel from escalating its offensive against Lebanon even if he wanted to, HuffPost reported this week.

We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.

As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.

Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.

As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.

At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.

Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.

You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.