Biden administration notifies Congress of plans to sell $8 billion worth of weapons to Israel
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. State Department has notified Congress of plans to sell $8 billion worth of weapons to Israel as U.S. ally Israel continues to push for a war against Hamas in Gaza, U.S. officials said.
On Saturday, two U.S. officials said some of the weapons in the program could be shipped from existing U.S. stockpiles, but most would take a year or several years to be delivered. anonymous.
The sale includes medium-range air-to-air missiles to help Israel defend against aerial threats, 155mm bombs for long-range targeting, Hellfire AGM-114 missiles, 500-pound bombs, etc.
News you can trust and daily fun, right in your inbox
Experience it firsthand — The Yodel is your go-to source for daily news, entertainment and light-hearted stories.
The weapons package would add to the record of at least $17.9 billion in U.S. military aid to Israel since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war.
The Biden administration has faced criticism over the mounting death toll of Palestinian civilians. Demonstrations were held on college campuses, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and some Democrats in Congress tried unsuccessfully to block the sale of offensive weapons to Israel.
The United States in May suspended the delivery of 2,000 pounds of bombs to Israel over concerns that their use in an attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah would cause civilian casualties. The Biden administration has asked Israel to increase humanitarian aid to the enclave. But last November it refused to restrict arms transfers, citing limited progress, as it threatened to do so if the situation did not improve.
Israel has been launching airstrikes in Gaza in recent days, killing dozens of people and tens of thousands since the war began more than a year ago.
The Israeli army said on Friday it had attacked dozens of Hamas gathering points and command centers across Gaza. The Israeli military says it targets only militants and blames Hamas for the civilian deaths because its militants operate in densely populated residential areas.
The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced approximately 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million population, many of them multiple times. Now that winter has arrived, hundreds of thousands of people are taking shelter in tents by the sea.
The informal notice to Congress is not final notice before a sale. The plan can now be reviewed by leaders of the House Foreign Relations Committee or the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
News of the weapons sales was first reported by Axios.
