President Joe Biden of the United States has informed Congress of a planned $8 billion arms sale to Israel.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a source familiar with the plan said on Saturday that the State Department has officially notified Congress of the proposed sale to support Israel’s long-term security by resupplying stocks of critical munitions and air defense capabilities.
The preliminary notification gives congressional committees an opportunity to scrutinize the proposed sale before a formal notification is sent to Congress.
The official further stated that the weapons package includes medium-range air-to-air missiles to defend against aerial threats, Hellfire AGM-114 missiles, 155mm projectile artillery shells for long-range targeting, and 500-pound warheads.
The Biden administration is said to have provided Israel with billions in arms aid since Israeli forces launched a massive attack on Hamas militants in Gaza in response to their deadly October 7 surprise attack in southern Israel.
It was also gathered that the outgoing U.S. president has repeatedly vowed ironclad support for Israel.
However, against the backdrop of a rising Palestinian death toll—now over 45,700, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza—and the increasingly dire conditions facing civilians, U.S. support has become a sensitive political issue.
The incoming president, Donald Trump, an outspoken supporter of Israel, said during the U.S. presidential campaign that if elected, he would quickly end the Gaza war, although he did not explain how.
United Nations officials say that as many as 70 percent of those killed in the Gaza hostilities have been women or children, and aid agencies have described the harrowing conditions facing civilians.
The Biden administration has urged Israel to increase humanitarian aid, but after threatening to curb arms shipments if the aid situation did not improve, it declined to do so in November.
Recent Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have reportedly killed several dozen people, according to the Gaza health ministry.
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