The US agreed to supply Israel with an additional batch of weapons

Photo: Yoav Galant

< p>The United States recently authorized the transfer of bombs and fighter jets worth billions of dollars to Israel. About this to the Reuters agency. two sources familiar with the situation said.

The new aid package includes more than 1,800 MK84 bombs (weighing about 900 kg) and 500 MK82 bombs (weighing 227 kg), according to sources who confirmed the publication in the Washington Post.< /p>

Washington provides $3.8 billion in annual military aid to Israel, its longtime ally.

The package comes amid intense international criticism of Israel for its ongoing bombing campaign and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and calls from some members of the Democratic Party to President Joe Biden to cut US military aid to Israel.

The US is supplying Israel with air defenses and ammunition, but some Democrats and Arab American groups have criticized the Biden administration's support for Israel, which they say gives Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet a sense of impunity.

On Friday, March 29, Biden admitted that many Arab Americans are hurt by the war in Gaza and U.S. support for Israel.

But he vowed to continue to support Israel despite increasingly bitter and public differences with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The White House declined to comment on arms supplies.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

The decision to supply weapons follows a visit by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant to Washington this week, during which he discussed Israel's weapons needs with his American counterparts.

In a conversation with reporters on Tuesday, March 26, Gallant, in an apparent attempt to cool tensions between the two allies, emphasized the importance of ties with the United States for his country's security, as well as maintaining a “qualitative military superiority” Israel in the region, including air potential.

BAGNET recalls that the war began on October 7, 2023 after Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing, according to Israeli estimates, 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages. In response, Israel launched an air and ground offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 32,000 people, according to health authorities in Gaza.

Prepared by: Sergei Daga