Joe Biden to Send $1bn Worth of More Weapons to Israel despite its escalating offensive in Gaza
Joe Biden has informed Congress that the US will be sending over $1 billion worth of weapons and ammunition to Israel, as officials have stated. The proposed package will consist of tank rounds, mortars, and armoured tactical vehicles, which are the details mentioned by Reuters.
A congressional aide confirmed that the deal is still under the legislative body’s approval. The idea under discussion is consistent with President Joe Biden’s fresh statement that he will stop arms exports to Israel if it invades the city of Rafah in Gaza.
On Tuesday, Reuters, which is a news agency based in London, reported that Israeli tanks had reached the southeastern Rafah residential areas in the deep, as witnessed by Palestinian locals.
The other day, President Biden said he had postponed the release of 2,000lb (900kg) bombs to Israel because of the worry that they might be used in the ground operations.
Some of the US-made weapons delivered to Israel may have been used in a way that violated international law, according to a recent study from the US State Department. However, although criticising some of Israel’s actions in Gaza, the report did not conclude that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had violated international law.
The report claimed that Israel’s assurances about the lawful use of US weapons were “accurate and verified.
In the previous month, the Congress passed a bill for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan for €95 billion as foreign aid. At the same time, the issue of the weapons transfer to Israel has now become a very sensitive political problem for President Biden, particularly with the 2024 presidential election in November.
After Maryland’s presidential primary, protesters called on voters to oppose Biden’s support of Israel in the Gaza situation, coinciding with the revelation of the extra weaponry agreement.
The goal of the legislation that Republican members of Congress have already introduced and approved is to stop sending arms to Israel.
The House of Representatives will discuss a bill to make the State and Defense Department the “prompt delivery” of the military equipment. The administration has already assured us that it will veto the bill if it is moved to the Senate, which is almost impossible.
Israel launched the military operation in the war against Hamas after the group launched a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, causing about 1,200 deaths and 252 hostages, as Israeli authorities claim.
Throughout the war, 35,170 people died in Gaza; among them, 82 perished in the last 24 hours, while the Hamas-run health ministry of Gaza reported the figure.
The international community is, on the one hand, keeping an eye on the situation and, on the other hand, pleading for the problem to be solved and for humanitarian access. The current arms package that the government is considering shows that US-Israel relations are very complex and delicate, especially during the period of the Gaza crisis.
