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

President Donald Trump has ended his predecessor's hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, lifting a pressure point that had been meant to reduce civilian casualties during the U.S. ally's war with Hamas in Gaza that is now halted by a tenuous ceasefire.

President Donald Trump's White House has instructed the U.S. 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.