The Biden administration has informally notified the US Congress of a proposed $8 billion arms deal with Israel that includes munitions for fighter jets and attack helicopters alongside artillery shells, Axios reported on Friday, citing two sources.
The sources told Axios that the deal could be partly supplied from current US stocks, but most would take a year or more to deliver. The deal will presumably be the last to be approved by the outgoing Biden administration.
The package — which needs to be okayed by the US House and Senate foreign relations committees — reportedly includes AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles for fighter jets to defend against airborne threats, including drones; 155mm artillery shells; Hellfire AGM-114 missiles for attack helicopters; small diameter bombs; JDAM tail kits that turn “dumb bombs” into precision munitions, 500-lb warheads and bomb fuzes.
In late spring, the US held up a shipment that included 500-lb bombs, but these were subsequently delivered. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complained about this policy in November, saying that such setbacks would soon end, an apparent reference to the incoming Trump administration.
Axios quoted a source saying that the State Department told Congress the deal is aimed at “supporting Israel’s long-term security by resupplying stocks of critical munitions and air defense capabilities.”
And it quoted a US official saying, “The President has made clear Israel has a right to defend its citizens, consistent with international law and international humanitarian law, and to deter aggression from Iran and its proxy organizations. We will continue to provide the capabilities necessary for Israel’s defense.”
US President Joe Biden, right, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, July 25, 2024. (AP/Susan Walsh)
A US official confirmed the Axios report to Reuters. The US State Department did not respond to a request for comment from the news agency.
Anti-Israel protesters have for months demanded an arms embargo against Israel, but US policy has largely remained unchanged.
In August, the United States approved the sale of $20 billion in fighter jets and other military equipment to Israel. A $680 million arms sale was confirmed by the US in November.
The Defense Ministry said in August that the US has sent over 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment to Israel since the war began.
The Biden administration says it is helping its ally defend against Iran-backed terror groups like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
Over the past month, the Houthi ballistic missiles have sent millions of Israelis to bomb shelters in the middle of the night.
In Gaza, fighting in the coastal enclave’s north continues, with Hamas still demonstrating it is still capable of firing rockets at Israel after nearly 15 months of war.
While in Lebanon, a delicate ceasefire holds as Israeli forces continue to uncover Hezbollah infrastructure in the country’s south.
Troops operating in north Gaza in an undated photo released for publication by the military on January 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Aggressions against Israel throughout the Middle East, which have been described as a seven-front war, began with the Hamas October 7, 2023 massacre, which saw terrorists invade Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 45,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle as of November and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
There is also a growing humanitarian crisis in the Strip, with many of those displaced living in tents. Israeli authorities say they have allowed thousands of aid trucks carrying food, water, medical equipment and shelter supplies into Gaza, with much of it looted by Hamas and armed gangs. International aid agencies say Israeli forces have been hampering aid deliveries, making the situation even worse.
