Netanyahu thanks Trump for giving Israel ‘tools’ of defense

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Donald Trump on Sunday for providing Israel with what he described as “tools” to defend itself, after the US president reportedly authorized the transfer of 2,000-pound bombs.

The US administration of president Joe Biden had halted the delivery of these heavy bombs last year when it appeared Israel was poised to launch a major ground operation in heavily populated areas of Gaza, a move that Washington opposed.

“Thank you President Trump for keeping your promise to give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself, to confront our common enemies and to secure a future of peace and prosperity,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.

Earlier on Sunday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also thanked Trump for the transfer of a “crucial defense shipment” to Israel.

Neither have specified what Trump had approved.

On Saturday, the US president said a “lot of things” were being delivered to Israel, after the report that he had released the shipment of 2,000-pound bombs.

“A lot of things that were ordered and paid for by Israel, but have not been sent by Biden, are now on their way!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Biden’s administration last year halted shipments of the bombs, warning that use of such large munitions in densely populated areas would cause “great human tragedy and damage.”

Last week, a tentative truce began in the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, aimed at bringing a permanent end to the fighting which began with the Palestinian militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The truce has been holding, with Israel and Hamas exchanging a second group of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners over the weekend.

Trump’s post did not mention any specific weapons being sent to Israel.

But writing in Axios, Israeli journalist Barak Ravid said Trump had ordered the Defense Department to release the hold Biden had placed on the heavy bombs.

During his first presidential term, Trump repeatedly boasted that Israel “never had a better friend in the White House,” a sentiment often echoed by Netanyahu.

But the Trump-Netanyahu relationship soured for a time after the Israeli leader called Biden to congratulate him on his 2020 election win.

Trump, who falsely claimed to have won the 2020 election, accused Netanyahu of disloyalty, according to multiple media reports at the time.