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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. State Department has alerted Congress regarding a proposed arms sale to Israel, valued at $8 billion, amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza, according to U.S. officials. This announcement is particularly significant as Israel continues to engage in military actions against Hamas.
Components of this arms shipment may be sourced from existing U.S. military stock, but the bulk of the weapons will require an extended period for delivery, possibly spanning one to several years, as revealed by two officials who requested anonymity pending formal congressional notification.
Included in the package are medium-range air-to-air missiles designed to bolster Israel’s defenses against aerial threats, artillery shells for long-range strike capabilities, Hellfire AGM-114 missiles, and 500-pound bombs, among other weaponry.
This latest transaction would contribute to a staggering total of over $17.9 billion in military aid supplied by the U.S. to Israel since the onset of hostilities following the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.
The Biden administration has encountered backlash for the rising toll on Palestinian civilian lives, evidenced by protests across numerous college campuses and failed legislative efforts led by Senator Bernie Sanders and other Democrats to halt the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel.
Previously, the U.S. had paused the delivery of large munitions, specifically a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs, due to apprehensions regarding potential civilian casualties during assaults in Gaza, particularly in southern locales like Rafah. Alongside this, the administration has been urging Israel to enhance the flow of humanitarian aid into the troubled territory. However, in November, it opted against restricting arms sales despite earlier threats, citing incremental improvements in the humanitarian situation.
Recently, Israel has intensified its air campaign, conducting airstrikes in Gaza that have reportedly resulted in numerous fatalities, adding to the staggering death count that has accumulated over the conflict’s duration.
According to Israeli military sources, multiple Hamas command centers and gathering places have been targeted in these strikes. The Israeli defense forces assert they are focused solely on militant targets and attribute civilian casualties to Hamas’s operational strategies within densely populated areas.
The ongoing conflict has wreaked havoc on Gaza, leading to catastrophic destruction and displacing approximately 90% of the region’s 2.3 million residents, many of whom have been forced to flee multiple times. As winter settles in, hundreds of thousands are now seeking refuge in makeshift tents along the coast.
The initial communication to Congress concerning the arms sale is not the concluding step; it allows the chairpersons of the House Foreign Affairs Committee or the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to evaluate the proposed package.
The story of the arms sale was initially disclosed by Axios.
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