Israel due to get billions of dollars more in U.S. weapons despite Biden pause
Billions of dollars worth of U.S. weaponry remains in the pipeline for Israel, despite the delay of one shipment of bombs and a review of others by President Joe Biden’s administration, concerned their use in an assault could wreak more devastation on Palestinian civilians.
A senior U.S. official said this week that the administration had reviewed the delivery of weapons that Israel might use for a major invasion of Rafah, a southern Gaza city where over 1 million civilians have sought refuge, and as a result paused a shipment of bombs to Israel.
Washington has long urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government not to invade Rafah without safeguards for civilians, seven months into a war that has devastated Gaza.
Congressional aides estimated the delayed bomb shipment’s value as “tens of millions” of U.S. dollars.
A wide range of other military equipment is due to go to Israel, including joint direct attack munitions (JDAMS), which convert dumb bombs into precision weapons; and tank rounds, mortars and armored tactical vehicles, Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters. [Continue reading…]