White House Makes 2,000-Pound Bombs Available to Israel, Undoing Biden’s Pause

An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows Palestinians walking through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP)
An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows Palestinians walking through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP)
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White House Makes 2,000-Pound Bombs Available to Israel, Undoing Biden’s Pause

An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows Palestinians walking through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP)
An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows Palestinians walking through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP)

President Donald Trump's White House has instructed the US military to release a hold imposed by the Biden administration on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, a White House source told Reuters on Saturday.

The move was widely expected. Biden put the hold on the delivery of those bombs due to concern over the impact they could have in Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.

A ceasefire to halt the war was recently agreed.

The Biden administration's particular concern had been over the use of such large bombs in the city of Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians in Gaza had taken refuge.



Interpol: 37 Suspected Terrorists Arrested in East Africa

A man passes an Interpol logo during the handing over ceremony of the new premises for Interpol's Global Complex for Innovation, a research and development facility, in Singapore September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Edgar Su//File Photo
A man passes an Interpol logo during the handing over ceremony of the new premises for Interpol's Global Complex for Innovation, a research and development facility, in Singapore September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Edgar Su//File Photo
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Interpol: 37 Suspected Terrorists Arrested in East Africa

A man passes an Interpol logo during the handing over ceremony of the new premises for Interpol's Global Complex for Innovation, a research and development facility, in Singapore September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Edgar Su//File Photo
A man passes an Interpol logo during the handing over ceremony of the new premises for Interpol's Global Complex for Innovation, a research and development facility, in Singapore September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Edgar Su//File Photo

Thirty-seven suspected terrorists, including suspected members of ISIS, have been arrested across east Africa over the last two months, the global police body Interpol said on Monday.

Interpol, which is headquartered in France, said the arrests had been made in November and December during operations conducted jointly with the pan-African police body Afripol.

The arrests come as concerns mount over a possible resurgence of the ISIS militant group, after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

On New Year's Day, fifteen people were killed after a US Army veteran flying an ISIS flag from his truck swerved around makeshift barriers and drove into crowds in New Orleans.

Interpol said the operations in Africa had resulted in the arrests of 17 people, including two suspected ISIS members, in Kenya, and the arrest of a suspected member of ISIS Mozambique in Tanzania.
Others were arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

"East Africa's complex landscape, marked by political instability, porous borders, and socioeconomic challenges, continues to provide an environment conducive to terrorist activity," said Cyril Gout from Interpol.

"These positive results demonstrate the power of international collaboration in the fight against terrorism," he added.