Egypt Daily News – The United States on Friday announced the approval of a more than $7.4 billion sale of bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel, which has used American-made weapons to kill tens of thousands of Palestinians and reduce Gaza to rubble in its war on the territory.
The State Department notified Congress’ armed services and foreign relations committees on Friday of $6.75 billion worth of GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs, MK-82 500-pound bomb bodies and various JDAM guidance kits.
The State Department also approved $660 million worth of some 2,000 AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles for Israel on Friday.
The proposed sale of the bombs “improves Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serves as a deterrent to regional threats,” DSCA said in a statement.
And the missile sale would “improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving the ability of the Israeli Air Force to defend Israel’s borders, vital infrastructure, and population centers,” it said.
The sale is another step in Trump’s effort to bolster Israel’s weapons stocks. In late January, soon after he took office, he lifted the hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. The Biden administration had paused a shipment of the bombs over concerns about civilian casualties, particularly during an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The deliveries, at least some of which are to be made from US stockpiles, are expected to be completed this year, the Pentagon said in a press release.
The massive arms sale came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington for meetings with Trump, administration officials and members of Congress.
According to AP, Biden administration officials informally notified Congress about the sale last month.
Meanwhile, a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas holds in Gaza, even as Trump continues to tout his widely criticized proposal to move all Palestinians out of the territory and redevelop it as an international travel destination.
But Trump told reporters he had released them to Israel “because they bought them,” AP reported.
