Biden administration plans $8 billion in new arms sales to Israel

Ahram Online , Sunday 5 Jan 2025

The US State Department has notified Congress informally of an $8 billion proposed arms deal with Israel that will include munitions for fighter jets and attack helicopters as well as artillery shells, two sources with direct knowledge tell Axios.

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Palestinian children run amid the destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes in the Shujaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip on January 4, 2025. AFP

The deal would require approval from both the House and Senate committees and includes munitions for fighter jets, attack helicopters, artillery shells, and small-diametre bombs and warheads, according to the report.

The Biden administration has approved several major arms deals and transfers worth tens of billions of dollars since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023.

Immediately after the war began, Congress approved a $14.3 billion arms transfer to Tel Aviv.

In August, the Biden administration approved more than $20 billion in new weapons sales to Israel, including 50 F-15 fighter jets, 33,000 tank cartridges, and 50,000 explosive mortar cartridges.

The Boeing-made F-15 aircraft, which will begin to be delivered in 2029, will upgrade Israel's current fleet and include radar and secure communications equipment.

"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability," the State Department said in its notice on the F-15s.

The United States provides Israel with 65 percent of its imported weapons, followed by Germany, which chips in with 25 percent, then Italy with 5 percent.

The Israeli war on Gaza, deemed genocidal by international courts, killed and wounded more than 160,000 Palestinians in the strip, mostly women and children.

Israel has used US fighter jets to carpet bomb most of the Gaza Strip, destroying most homes, schools, and hospitals - leaving 2.4 million without shelter, adequate water and food, and medical services.

Meanwhile, Israel used US fighter jets to destroy tens of villages in southern Lebanon during a two-month bombing campaign of the country last fall.

Israeli airstrikes also destroyed tens of thousands of homes and residential buildings and left nearly 20,000 dead or wounded in Lebanon.

Moreover, US/Israeli fighter jets ravaged what remained of the Syrian national army capabilities following the fall of Bashar Al-Assad's government in early December.