Former President Biden had blocked several bomb shipments over the Gaza war
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has formalized an agreement to expedite roughly $4 billion in military aid to Israel, highlighting President Donald Trump’s support for the nation, according to a Saturday announcement.
This action aligns with the Trump administration’s broader strategy to strengthen Israel’s defense capabilities amidst ongoing regional instability. Since January 20, the Trump administration has reportedly approved nearly $12 billion in significant foreign military sales to Israel.
“This important decision coincides with President Trump’s repeal of a Biden-era memorandum, which had imposed baseless and politicized conditions on military assistance to Israel at a time when our close ally was fighting a war of survival on multiple fronts against Iran and terror proxies,” Rubio said on Saturday.
In May, Biden temporarily halted the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel and suggested further weapon restrictions if the IDF proceeded with an invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza. Despite this warning, the IDF entered Rafah, and Biden eventually reversed the arms freeze.
The State Department lauded the reversal of Biden’s “partial arms embargo” as “yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump.” Citing US national security interests, Secretary Rubio utilized emergency authority to accelerate the aid.