Joe Biden’s administration has unofficially informed the US Congress of a proposed $8 billion arms deal with Israel, which includes ammunition for fighter jets and attack helicopters, as well as shells of artillery, Axios reported Friday, citing two sources.
The sources told Axios that the deal could be partially supplied by current U.S. inventories, but that most deliveries would take a year or more. The deal will likely be the last to be approved by the outgoing Biden administration.
This program, which must still be approved by the House and Senate Foreign Affairs committees, would include AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles for fighter jets to defend them against aerial threats – including -including drones – 155mm artillery shells, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles for attack helicopters, small diameter bombs, JDAM tail kits that transform “dumb bombs” in precision munitions, 220 kg warheads and primers for the bombs.
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In late spring, the United States blocked a shipment that included 220 kg bombs, but these were eventually delivered. In November, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lamented the policy, saying such setbacks would soon end – an apparent reference to Donald Trump’s administration that was about to take office.
Axios cited a source saying the State Department told Congress the deal was intended to “support Israel’s long-term security by replenishing critical munitions stockpiles and strengthening air defense capabilities.”
The site also quoted the comments of a US official who noted that “the president clearly argued that Israel has the right to defend its citizens, in accordance with international law and in accordance with international humanitarian law, and that Israel has the right to deter aggression by Iran and its proxy organizations. We will continue to provide the means necessary for the defense of Israel. »
US President Joe Biden with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, July 25, 2024. (Susan Walsh/AP)
A US official confirmed the information in the Axios article to Reuters. The US State Department did not respond to the news agency’s request for comment.
Anti-Israel activists have called for an arms embargo on Israel for months, but U.S. policy has remained largely unchanged.
In August, the United States approved the sale of fighter jets and other military equipment worth $20 billion to Israel. A $680 million arms sale was confirmed by the United States in November.
The Defense Department said in August that the United States had sent more than 50,000 tons of weapons and military equipment to Israel since the start of the war – a war sparked by the pogrom perpetrated by the Palestinian terrorist group. of Hamas, on October 7, 2023, in southern Israel.
The Biden administration says it is helping its ally defend against Iran-backed terrorist groups, such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
Over the past month, Houthi ballistic missiles have repeatedly driven millions of Israelis into fallout shelters in the middle of the night.
In Gaza, fighting continues in the north of the coastal enclave, with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas demonstrating that it is still capable of firing rockets at Israel after nearly fifteen months of war.
In Lebanon, a fragile ceasefire holds as Israeli army troops continue to uncover the infrastructure of the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah in the south of the country.
Israeli army soldiers operating in the northern Gaza Strip, in an undated photo published on January 4, 2024. (Israeli Army)
The attacks against Israel across the Middle East, which have been described as a war on seven fronts, began with the unprecedented assault of October 7, 2023, when some 6,000 Gazans including 3,800 terrorists led by Hamas, had stormed southern Israel. The gunmen had killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 251 hostages of all ages – committing numerous atrocities and perpetrating large-scale sexual violence.
More than 45,000 people have died in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health. The figures released by the terrorist group are unverifiable and reportedly include its own terrorists killed in Israel and Gaza, as well as civilians killed by hundreds of rockets fired by armed Palestinian organizations that fall inside the Gaza Strip. .
Israel claims to have killed 18,000 terrorists in combat. The IDF also claims to have killed a thousand terrorists inside the country on October 7, 2023.
The IDF stresses taking “numerous measures” to minimize harm to civilians and notes that the terrorist group systematically violates international law and exploits civilian institutions and the population by using them as human shields to carry out its terrorist activities – launching its attacks from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
The humanitarian crisis is also worsening in the Gaza Strip, where many displaced people are living in tents. Israeli authorities say they have allowed thousands of trucks carrying food, water, medical equipment and shelter into Gaza, much of which was looted by Hamas and other armed groups. International aid agencies say the IDF may have obstructed the delivery of aid, making the situation worse.
