US has sent Israel thousands of 2,000-pound bombs since Oct

The Biden administration has sent to Israel large numbers of munitions, including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles, since the start of the war in Gaza, said two US officials briefed on an updated list of weapons shipments.

Between the war's start in October 2023 and recent days, the US has transferred at least 14,000 of the MK 84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-toground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs, and other munitions, according to the officials, who were not authorised to speak publicly.

While the officials did not give a timeline for the shipments, the totals suggest there has been no significant drop-off in US military support for its ally, despite international calls to limit weapons supplies and a recent administration decision to pause a shipment of powerful bombs.

Experts said the contents of the shipments appear consistent with what Israel would need to replenish supplies used in its eight-month intense military campaign in Gaza, which it launched after the Oct 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants who killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage, according to Israeli tallies.