Why the US suspended bomb deliveries to Israel ahead of a possible attack on Rafah

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel has relied on powerful 2,000-pound bombs provided by the United States in its attacks on Hamas’s underground tunnels in Gaza. But now those deliveries are on hold.

The U.S. is pausing delivery of 1,800 of these bombs as well as 1,700 500-pound bombs, U.S. officials said. The decision comes as Israel plans an attack on the southern Gaza town of Rafah to wipe out the last elements of Hamas.

With more than a million refugees seeking refuge in Rafah, U.S. officials fear the bombs could cause heavy casualties. Human rights groups have long claimed that Israel’s use of powerful bombs has led to the indiscriminate killing of civilians.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told a Senate panel on Wednesday that a densely populated area like Rafah requires smaller, more precise weapons.

However, he made it clear that the decision was not final.

“We will continue to do whatever is necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself,” Austin said. “However, we are currently reviewing some short-term security assistance deliveries related to unfolding events in Rafah.”

Israel expressed disappointment with the decision and suggested it was made because of political pressure on President Joe Biden. Some defense experts said the move was largely symbolic but could portend further difficulties in U.S.-Israel relations.

“It’s a kind of diplomatic message to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu that he needs to take American interests into account more than he has in recent months,” said Itamar Yaar, former deputy chairman of Israel’s National Security Council. “At least for now it will not have any impact on Israeli capabilities, but it is a kind of signal, a ‘be careful’.”

A look at the 2,000-pound bomb and why there are so many concerns about its use in Rafah.

2,000 POUND BOMBS

While the U.S. has dropped 2,000-pound bombs from its planes since World War II, current versions date back to the Vietnam War. It is an air-dropped munition that can carry a higher payload as it does not have a motor. It is one of the larger types of ammunition in the U.S. inventory, said Ryan Brobst, senior research analyst at the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

The 2,000-pound bomb comes in several variants – some are designed to penetrate deep, underground targets, while others explode above ground and cause widespread damage. Depending on the variant and whether the munition is dropped in an open or urban area, the blast radius can range up to a quarter mile or a much narrower area.

The bombs are “dumb” or unguided bombs, but can be converted into more precise weapons with the addition of Joint Direct Attack Munition kits, or JDAM kits, which add a tail fin and navigation.

This additional kit allows troops to direct the munitions to a target rather than simply dropping them onto the ground from a fighter aircraft. The kits make the weapons more precise, but in a dense urban environment a JDAM kit won’t make much of a difference – a precise hit still has the range to kill unintentional bystanders.

U.S. fighter jets, bombers and drones can all fire the JDAMs, and the U.S. began providing the munitions to Ukraine in 2022, a slightly modified version that could be launched from Ukrainian aircraft. After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, the United States delivered 2,000 pounds of heavy munitions to Israel to help it defend itself.

And unlike other types of ammunition in the U.S. inventory, the military has a large supply of ammunition, so providing it does not involve the same inventory pressure that the U.S. has with other, more limited types of ammunition such as the 155mm artillery rounds.

USE IN GAZA

The Israeli military has said little about what types of bombs and artillery it is using in Gaza. However, based on explosion fragments found at the site and analysis of attack footage, experts are confident that the vast majority of bombs dropped on the besieged enclave were made in the United States. They say the 2,000-pound bombs killed hundreds in densely populated areas.

Brobst said the 2,000-pound bombs were still needed to help Israel attack Hamas’ tunnel network in Rafah.

Wes Bryant, a weapons expert and retired US Air Force master sergeant who served on an independent task force for the State and Defense departments on Israeli weapons use in Gaza, said the pause would represent a “huge blow” to Israel’s arsenal.

The 2,000- and 500-pound bombs are some of the main munitions used by Israel in its seven-month war campaign, Bryant said.

“They burned out,” Bryant said. He said the ammunition is manufactured by major American weapons manufacturers such as Raytheon, Northrop, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and General Atomics.

The danger to Rafah

A report prepared last month by the Independent Task Force for the Departments of State and Defense said U.S. sources told one of its members that 300,000 munitions were dropped or fired at Gaza in the first six months of the war.

It cited “credible” media investigations that said there were at least 500 craters in the Gaza Strip in the first month of Israel’s campaign alone, suggesting the use of 2,000-pound bombs.

The possible use of 2,000-pound bombs in Rafah, where more than a million people have sought refuge because they have nowhere else to go, has caused great concern among the government.

At the hearing, Austin questioned whether the 2,000-pound bomb was the right tool for this Rafah operation.

“It’s about having the right weapons for the job. And a small-diameter bomb, a precision weapon that is very useful in a dense, built-up environment,” Austin said, “but perhaps not so much a 2,000-pound bomb that could cause major collateral damage.” He said the U.S want Israel to conduct more “precise” operations.

Israel reacted strongly to the US decision. Their UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the pause “a very disappointing, even frustrating decision” in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 television. He suggested the move was due to congressional political pressure on Biden, campus protests and the upcoming election.

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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington and Julia Frankel and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.