The Biden administration is pushing ahead with a $680 million arms sales package to Israel, a U.S. official familiar with the plan said on Wednesday. This comes in even as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah has come into effect.
The package, which was first reported by the Financial Times. It includes thousands of joint direct attack munition kits (JDAM) and hundreds of small-diameter bombs, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Destruction Package?
The news comes less than a day after the ceasefire agreement ended the deadliest confrontation in years between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. However, Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
However, the package has been in the works for several months. It was first previewed to the congressional committees in September then submitted for review in October, the official said.
The package follows a $20 billion sale in August of fighter jets and other military equipment to Israel.
Reuters reported in June that Washington, Israel’s biggest ally and weapons supplier, has sent Israel more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Blocking The Sale
The conversations about the latest arms package had been going on even as a group of progressive U.S. senators including Bernie Sanders introduced resolutions to block the sale. Sanders introduced blocking the sale of some U.S. weapons to Israel over concerns about the human rights catastrophe faced by Palestinians in Gaza.
The legislation was shot down in the Senate.
Biden, whose term ends in January, has strongly backed Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked in October 2023. The attack had killed 1,200 people and tHamas took more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people has been displaced and the enclave is at risk of famine, more than a year into Israel’s war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave. Gaza health officials say more than 43,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive.
(with inputs for Reuters)
