The State Department announces the approval of $20 billion in weapons sales to Israel, amid the escalation of tensions in the region following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah's Fuad Shukr and global condemnation for Tel Aviv's ongoing war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
Congress was notified of the impending sale, which includes more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, 120 mm tank ammunition and high explosive mortars and tactical vehicles and comes at a time of intense concern that Israel may become involved in a wider Middle East war.
However, the weapons are not expected to get to Israel anytime soon, they are contracts that will take years to fulfill. Much of what is being sold is to help Israel increase its military capability in the long term.
"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives,” the State Department said in a release on the sale.
The Biden administration has come under fire for its stance on Gaza, with a growing number of calls from lawmakers and the U.S. public to curb military support there due to Israel's ongoing massacres, which killed over 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. It has curbed one delivery of 2,000-pound weapons amid continued airstrikes by Israel in densely populated civilian areas in Gaza.
The contracts will cover not only the sale of new 50 aircraft to be produced by Boeing. It will also include upgrade kits for Israel to modify its existing fleet of two dozen F-15 fighter jets with new engines and radars, among other upgrades. The jets comprise the biggest portion of the $20 billion in sales with the first deliveries expected in 2029.
Flouting a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.
Over 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The court in May ordered Israel to halt its Rafah offensive and demanded the release of hostages and the "unhindered provision" of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Hague-based ICJ, whose orders are legally binding but lack direct enforcement mechanisms, also instructed Israel to keep open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza after Israel seized the Palestinian side in May, effectively shutting it.
Israel dismissed the ruling, insisting that the court had gotten it wrong.
