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The US State Department moved a $1 billion arms aid package to Israel in the congressional review process, two U.S. officials said Tuesday.
The latest weapons package includes tank rounds, mortars and armored tactical vehicles, one of the officials told Reuters.
President Joe Biden said last week that it had delayed the delivery of 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs and 1,700 500 lb bombs to Israel over fears they could be used in a major incursion into Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Monday that the U.S. would continue to provide the military aid provided for in the $26 billion supplemental funding bill passed last month, but the White House halted the bombs because “we don’t we believe they should be thrown into the densely populated cities”.
The chairmen and senior members of the foreign affairs committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives’ foreign affairs committees review major foreign arms deals.
Biden urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to invade Rafah without guarantees for civilians, seven months into a war that has devastated Gaza.
Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas has emerged as a political liability for the president, particularly among young Democrats, as he runs for re-election this year.
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