The US State Department has informed Congress of a proposed $8 billion arms sale to Israel, US officials say, as the US ally continues its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Some of the weapons in the package could come from current U.S. stockpiles, but the majority would take a year or several years to deliver, according to two U.S. officials Saturday who spoke on condition of anonymity because the notification to Congress did not been formally sent. sent.
The sale includes medium-range air-to-air missiles to help Israel defend against aerial threats, 155mm artillery shells for long-range targeting, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, 500-pound bombs and much more.
The arms package would add to the record military aid of at least $17.9 billion that the United States has provided to Israel since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war .
The United States, Britain and other Western countries designate Hamas as a terrorist group.
The Biden administration has faced criticism over the growing number of Palestinian civilian deaths. There have been protests on college campuses and unsuccessful efforts in Congress by Sen. Bernie Sanders and some Democrats to block offensive arms sales to Israel.
The United States suspended its shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in May, fearing civilian casualties if the bombs were to be used in an attack on the southern Gaza town of Rafah. The Biden administration has demanded that Israel increase its humanitarian aid to the enclave. But in November, citing limited progress, he refused to limit arms transfers as he threatened to do if the situation did not improve.
In recent days, Israel has carried out airstrikes on Gaza that have killed dozens of people, adding to tens of thousands of deaths since the war began more than a year ago.
The Israeli military said Friday it had struck dozens of Hamas assembly points and command centers across Gaza. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and accuses Hamas of being responsible for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas.
The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced around 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, many of them multiple times. Winter has now arrived and hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering in tents near the sea.
Informal notice to Congress is not final notification prior to a sale. Now, leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee or the Senate Foreign Relations Committee can review the package.
News of the arms sale was first reported by Axios.