The $8 billion sale includes medium-range air-to-air missiles, 155mm projectile artillery shells for long-range targeting, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, bombs 500 pounds and other armaments.
ADVERTISEMENT
Before leaving the White House, Joe Biden has just made a new controversial decision. After pardoning his son Hunterand called into question the long-planned marriage between the two Japanese and American steel giantsthe outgoing president, through the American Department of State, informed Congress of a plan to sell arms to Israel for an amount of 8 billion dollars (7.7 billion euros), while the American ally continues its war against Hamas in Gaza.
According to two U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity, some of the planned weapons could be delivered through current U.S. stockpiles, but delivery of the majority of them would take a year or several years.
The sale includes medium-range air-to-air missiles to help Israel defend against aerial threats, 155mm projectile artillery shells for long-range targeting, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, 500mm bombs books and other weapons.
This weapons package would add to record military aid toat least $17.9 billion (17.3 billion euros) that Washington has provided to Israel since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
Informal notification to Congress is not final notification prior to a sale. Officials from the House Foreign Affairs Committee or the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee can now review the matter.
The Biden administration has been criticized for rising Palestinian civilian casualties, with protests on college campuses and unsuccessful congressional efforts to block offensive arms sales to Israel.
In May, however, the United States halted a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, fearing civilian casualties if the bombs were used in an assault on the southern city of Rafah.
The Biden administration also asked Israel to increase humanitarian aid to the enclave. But in November, citing limited progress, it refused to limit arms transfers, as it had threatened to do if the situation did not improve.
Strikes on Gaza
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 21 people, including at least two children, in Gaza on Saturday, as a new attempt at ceasefire negotiations was underway in Qatar , after nearly 15 months of war.
Thousands gather again in Israel to demand a ceasefire agreementhours after Hamas released a video showing one of the hostages still held in Gaza.
In this video, Liri Albag, Israeli soldier and hostage, speaking under duress, spoke of her anguish about her situation and mentioned that she had been detained for 450 days.
“Today is the start of a new year, the whole world is celebrating. However, we are entering a dark year, a year of loneliness”she said.
She also said that one of her fellow prisoners was injured during the fighting in Gaza, adding: “We are living an extremely terrifying nightmare”. She did not give the name of the injured person.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he spoke with the young woman’s parents and told them that “efforts continue, including right now” to bring the hostages home.
In a statement, the soldier’s family said: “It’s time to make decisions as if your own children were there!”
ADVERTISEMENTThe war in the Gaza Strip began after a Hamas incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead and 250 hostages in Gaza.
Around 100 people remain captive in the Gaza Strip, but Israeli authorities estimate that at least a third of them are dead.
No statement was immediately made on indirect ceasefire negotiations.
The talks were repeatedly stalled as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to continue action in Gaza until Hamas was destroyed.
ADVERTISEMENTHamas fighters, who want Israeli forces to leave Gaza completely, continue to regroup in areas where Israeli forces have withdrawn.
The talks are taking place under the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
The war has caused massive destruction throughout the Gaza Strip and displaced around 90% of the 2.3 million residents, often multiple times.
The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 45,500 Palestinians have been killed, but officials do not distinguish between fighters and civilians in their tally.
ADVERTISEMENT
