What is an MK-84 heavy bomb? 900 kg munition from US reaches Israeli shores; taken to airbases on trucks

Three weeks after US President Donald Trump lifted the pause on the supply of 2000-pound bombs to Israel, Tel Aviv on Sunday announced that heavy bombs from the US had reached its shores. The Biden administration had imposed a hold on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel over concerns that they could impact the civilian population in Gaza.

However, the shipment of heavy bombs from the US arrived in Israel's Ashdod Port. Ships carrying the MK-84 2,000-lb munitions reached the country after which they were transported in huge trucks to the military airbases.

Defense Minister Israel Katz praised Trump for the bombs saying it "represented a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States."

Israel had paid for the bombs, but it was put on hold until Trump lifted it in January soon after he assumed office. The MK-84 is part of the 76,000 tons of military equipment that Israel purchased from the US. The weapons arrived in Israel via 678 flights and 129 sea shipments.

What is an MK-84

The 900-kg heavy bomb is used by the US Air Force to destroy soft and protected targets like buildings, rail yards, and communication lines.  It is a general-purpose bomb that entered the service during the Vietnam War.

While 40 per cent of the bomb's weight is a high-explosive mix while the remaining is its steel case. When detonated, the MK-84 bomb's steel casing shatters into razor-sharp fragments that can shred human bodies and unarmored vehicles. Pilots who used these bombs in Iraq had nicknamed it the "Hammer" for its destructive power and blast radius.

These bombs were responsible for some of the worst attacks on civilians in Gaza and over 90 per cent of the munitions dropped in Gaza during the first two weeks were satellite-guided bombs of 1,000 to 2,000 pounds.

Former President Biden had paused the shipments of Mk-84 to Israel as the US feared the devastating effects it would have on people if Israel invaded the Southern Gaza city of Rafah, where the refugee population was concentrated. "Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs," Biden said.