5 months ago
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The administration of President Joe Biden has informed Congress of a planned $1 billion (€0.92 billion) weapons shipment to Israel, official sources said.
The weapons package includes $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million for tactical vehicles, and $60 million for mortar rounds.
The government has also initiated the authorization process in Congress, although it is at an early stage.
This latest development comes a week after the United States withheld some so-called heavy bombs over concerns aboutcivilian casualties in Gaza.
The US paused the bomb transfer to prevent their use in Rafah, a densely populated city in southern Gaza.
International allies and aid groups have repeatedly warned Israel against a ground incursion in Rafah, where many Palestinians had previously fled.
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks pushed deeper into Rafah as the country said it must root out Hamas battalions holed up there.
Israeli army restarts fighting in northern Gaza
The latest US shipment is not part of the recent $95 billion defense package passed by Congress and signed by Biden, which includes aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
While some of Biden's fellow Democrats have pushed the administration to limit transfers of offensive weapons to Israel, seeking to limit Palestinian civilian casualties, Republicans said a pause would weaken Israel against Hamas and other Iran-backed groups.
On Monday, national security spokesman John Kirby emphasized that the administration would continue to support Israel's defense needs.
Kirby said Biden is "going to continue to provide Israel with all of the capabilities it needs, but he does not want certain categories of American weapons used in a particular type of operation in a particular place. And again, he has been clear and consistent with that."
ss/rc (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
