McCaul Calls for Ending Pause on Sending Large Bombs to Israel
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, urged the Biden administration last week to stop blocking the transfer of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, saying such large weapons are “operationally necessary” to strike deeply buried bunkers and tunnels used by Israel's enemies.
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In a letter to President Joe Biden, McCaul said that Israel recently used 2,000-pound bombs to eliminate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top Hezbollah officials and that Biden called Nasrallah’s death “a measure of justice for his many victims.” While the administration paused a shipment of such bombs in the spring, citing concerns about civilian casualties during an Israeli operation against Hamas in the Gazan city of Rafah (see 2405150051), that operation has ended but the shipment remains on hold, the letter says.
McCaul also urged the administration to expedite other arms sales to Israel. He said he is aware of more than 10 other weapons purchases “that have experienced unusual, unexplained delays.”
The administration "has consistently said its support for Israel is 'ironclad,'" McCaul wrote. "We must fulfill this commitment both to protect Israel’s security and to demonstrate our credibility as a reliable defense partner."
In a statement, a National Security Council spokesperson said the administration has provided “unprecedented” support to Israel in its yearlong war against Iran-backed terrorist groups.
“Massive amounts of security assistance have moved to Israel and continue to move to Israel every day,” the spokesperson said. "We have and will always make sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself from all Iranian-backed proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.”
Biden told reporters at the White House Oct. 4 that "no administration has helped Israel more than I have. None, none, none." While reiterating that he believes "the Israelis have every right to respond to the vicious attacks on them," he said "they have to be very much more careful about dealing with civilian casualties."