Israel receives massive US military equipment delivery frozen under Biden

The Israeli Defense Ministry on Wednesday announced that it has received a massive shipment of U.S. military equipment that was previously frozen by the former Biden administration. The delivery which was authorized by U.S. President Donald Trump in January, includes diverse engineering equipment including D9 bulldozers. The shipment arrived at Haifa Port in northern Israel and was later transferred with IDF trucks for armor installation. 

Major General (res.) Amir Baram, a former IDF deputy chief of staff and the current Defense Ministry’s director general, personally travelled to the Haifa Port to receive the shipment. 

“The shipment of D9 bulldozers is part of a wide-ranging buildup effort of weaponry and equipment worth billions of shekels, which the U.S. administration released and the Defense Ministry procured and transported to Israel,” Baram stated.

“In recent weeks, we have received numerous cargo ships and aircraft. We must continue to strengthen force-building to support all the IDF’s needs in the current campaign and in preparing for the decade ahead,” he continued. 

Israel has reportedly received more than 100,000 tons of military equipment via 144 sea shipments and 870 flights since the Hamas Oct. 7 attack in 2023. The vast majority of the shipments have arrived from the United States. 

“This is the largest air-and-sea logistics operation in the history of the State of Israel, an Israel Defense Ministry official noted. 

In November 2024, the former Biden administration decided to freeze the shipment of 134 bulldozers to the Israeli military amid vocal protests that the machines were used for demolishing homes in Gaza. 

Nicknamed “Doobi” in Israel, the American manufactured Caterpillar D9 bulldozers have played a crucial role in the Israeli military’s offensive against Hamas terrorists in Gaza. 

While the optics may not look good in international media, the heavy bulldozers protect the lives of Israeli soldiers by neutralizing explosives in narrow Gazan alleys where Hamas terrorists operate. Furthermore, Hamas operatives have booby-trapped many buildings across the Gaza Strip, which have claimed the lives of multiple IDF soldiers.  

In October 2024, Lt.-Col. Ran, an engineering officer in the IDF’s 162nd Division, emphasized the important role that the bulldozers play in the dangerous military operations against Hamas in Gaza. 

"They drive at the front of the force with the D9 and everyone else follows. It’s a tough mental challenge, entering an alley that no one has been in before, being the first to go in. But these people are heroes, every single one of them," Ran explained.

In February, the Trump administration also approved the delivery of heavy bombs to the Israeli military, which had been delayed by the Biden administration. 

The Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz welcomed the decision by the Trump administration, calling the shipment "a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF.”

“The supply of munitions that arrived in Israel last night and was released by the Trump administration is a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and is further evidence of the strong bond between Israel and the US,” Katz stated. 

“I thank US President Trump and the US administration for their firm stand with the State of Israel,” he added.