The government of the American president Joe Biden approved an arms sale to Israel for about 8 billion dollarsa package that includes anti-aircraft defense ammunition, announced this Saturday the State Department.
The sale – which must be approved by Congress – was agreed upon a few days before the Republican takes office. Donald Trumpalso a strong ally of Israel in the war in Gaza, and despite the opposition of human rights groups and some Democratic parliamentarians.
Some of the weapons could be shipped through current US stockpiles. USAbut most would take a year or several years to be delivered, according to two US officials who spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity because the notification to Congress has not yet been formally sent.
The sale includes medium-range air-to-air missiles to help Israel defend itself against aerial threats, 155mm artillery shells for long-range targets, misiles Hellfire AGM-114500 pound bombs and more.
The arms package would add to a record of at least $17.9 billion in military aid the United States has provided to Israel since the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, which started the war.
President Joe Biden’s administration has faced criticism over the rising number of Palestinian civilian deaths. There have been demonstrations on college campuses and unsuccessful efforts in Congress by Senator Bernie Sanders and some Democrats to block sales of offensive weapons to Israel.
The United States paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in May due to concerns about civilian casualties. The Biden administration has demanded that Israel increase humanitarian aid in the enclave. But in November, citing some limited progress, he declined to limit arms transfers as he had threatened to do if the situation did not improve.
In recent days, Israel has been carrying out airstrikes in Gaza that have killed dozens of people, adding to the tens of thousands of deaths since the war began more than a year ago.
The Israeli military said on Friday it had attacked dozens of Hamas assembly points and command centers across Gaza. Israel’s military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in residential areas.
The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced approximately 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times. Winter has now arrived, and hundreds of thousands are sheltering in tents near the sea.
Informal notification to Congress is not final notification before a sale. Now the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee or Senate Foreign Relations Committee You can check the package.
News of the arms sale was first reported by Axios.
(With information from AFP and AP)
