WATCH Video | US Releases Withheld Heavy Bombs To Israel Ahead Of Rafah Operation - Is Biden Taking A U-Turn?

The Biden administration has now released approximately half of the heavy bombs it had withheld from Israel since May due to concerns that the IDF might deploy them in densely populated areas of Gaza, a US official informed The Times of Israel on Wednesday.

Back in May, the White House had announced the decision to withhold a shipment comprising 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs.

US Releases Withheld Heavy Bombs To Israel - All You Need to Know

President Joe Biden had indicated the possibility of freezing additional offensive weaponry if Israel launched a major military offensive in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, where over a million Palestinians were seeking shelter at the time.

Following Israel's adjustments to its operations to address the administration's concerns about civilian casualties, progress had been made toward resolving the issue of the withheld bomb shipment, according to an Israeli official cited by The Times of Israel.

However, tensions escalated last month when Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly claimed that the US was implementing a broader policy of withholding weapons shipments to Israel. This move reportedly frustrated the Biden administration and setback efforts to release at least a portion of the withheld high-payload bomb shipment, as per the Israeli official.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and his office officials were able to mitigate some of the disagreements during visits to Washington in late June, leading to the US decision to release the 1,700 500-pound bombs.

Netanyahu asserted that he had only made the dispute over weapon transfers public after months of unsuccessful attempts to resolve it privately. Following Gallant's visit, the US acknowledged that delays in the weapon transfer system had occurred due to bureaucracy rather than political reasons, and these issues have since been addressed.

Confirming the dispatch of the 500-pound bombs to Israel, the US official clarified that these munitions were initially delayed because they were part of the same shipment as the more powerful 2,000-pound bombs.

"Our main concern has been the potential use of the 2,000-pound bombs, particularly in Israel's Rafah campaign, which they have announced they are concluding," the US official stated.

Israel plans to conclude its tailored Rafah operation soon and transition to lower-intensity combat focused on targeted raids in Hamas-affected areas of Gaza.

"Due to the way these shipments are packaged, other munitions can sometimes be mixed together, as was the case with the 500-pound bombs," the US official explained.

"The 500-pound bombs are proceeding as part of the regular process, since our primary concern remains the potential use of the 2,000-pound bombs in Rafah and other parts of Gaza," the official added, without specifying if or when the heavier munitions would be released.