The Biden administration has approved a $8 billion arms deal for Israel, demonstrating continued support for its ally amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Joe Biden’s administration has provisionally approved $8 billion in new weapons for Israel in a last-minute show of support for the US president’s close ally after more than a year of war in Gaza. The State Department disclosed the sale to Congress late on Friday in what is known as an informal notification, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Such a notification comes before the public announcement of a deal, which will require the approval of the Senate and House Foreign Relations Committees before it can go through. Axios first reported on the planned sale, which includes $6.75 billion in precision guided missiles and small bombs, $300 million in 155mm artillery shells, $600 million in Hellfire missiles and $300 million in Amraam air-to-air missiles, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. A second person said some of the weapons would come directly from US stocks but many would take a year or more to deliver. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 people in the enclave, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israel launched the offensive in response to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials. Biden administration officials have vowed to continue to pursue efforts to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza until the end of their term on January 20, but the talks have been stalled for months. The administration has repeatedly raised concerns with Israel about the humanitarian situation in Gaza but has largely not followed through on threats to withhold weapons. In November the State Department withdrew a threat to withhold military assistance even after aid deliveries into Gaza fell to record lows, saying it was satisfied that Israel had taken steps to improve the humanitarian situation. US officials say aid deliveries have improved since then but continue to be insufficient
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