WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that he signed a announcement to speed up the delivery of about $4 billion in military aid to Israel.
Rubio said in a statement that the Trump administration took office on January 20 and had approved nearly $12 billion in foreign military sales to Israel, adding that “all available tools will continue to be used to fulfill the long-term U.S. commitment to Israel’s security, including means to address security threats.”
Rubio said he had used emergency powers to speed up military aid to Israel to his Middle East allies and is now in a fragile ceasefire with Hamas militants during the Gaza War.
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The Pentagon said Friday that the State Department has approved the sale of nearly $3 billion in bombs to Israel, dismantling kits and other weapons.
The government notified Congress of these potential weapons sales in an emergency, eschewing members of the House of Representatives’ Foreign and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who have long provided the opportunity to review sales and solicit more information before making a formal notice to Congress.
Friday’s announcement marks the second announcement in recent weeks that President Donald Trump’s administration has announced urgent approval of Israel’s arms sales. The Biden administration also used emergency authorization to approve the sale of weapons to Israel without Congressional review.
On Monday, the Trump administration canceled a Biden-era order requiring its report to violate international law involved in allies, including Israel. It also eliminates most humanitarian foreign aid in the United States.
On January 19, the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire deal halted 15 months of fighting and paved the way for negotiations to end the war, while leading to the release of 33 Israeli hostages in Gaza and about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and about Israeli-owned detention centers.
Israel said earlier Sunday that it would adopt a proposal made by Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff to conduct a temporary ceasefire during Ramadan and Passover in Gaza, hours after the first phase of the agreed ceasefire will expire.
Israel and Hamas alleged breach of the ceasefire, raising doubts about the second phase of the deal, aiming to include the issuance of additional hostages and prisoners, as well as steps towards a permanent ending of the war.
(In paragraph 8, this story has been corrected, saying 33, not 44, Israeli hostages)
(Reported by David Brunnstrom; Editor of William Mallard)
