US to send $1.2 billion in additional weapons to Israel

The US presidential administration said it would send Israel more than a billion dollars worth of additional weapons. About it writes Associated Press, citing three congressional staffers.

The package includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million for tactical vehicles and $60 million for mortar shells, AP people said.

It is unknown when this assistance will be provided to Israel. In early May, the United States suspended the supply of bombs to Israel over fears that they would be used to strike the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled fighting in the northern Gaza Strip.

At the same time, US President Joe Biden made it clear that he will continue to help Israel with weapons in its fight against enemies, including the Hamas group, recognized as terrorist by the US and EU. “Biden is committed to providing Israel with everything it needs, but does not want certain categories of American weapons to be used in a certain type of operation in a certain location,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Israel is conducting a military operation in the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas attack on the south of the country on October 7, 2023. Then more than 1,200 people died in Israel, more than two hundred were captured and taken to Gaza. Some remain hostage to this day. Israel has stated that its goal is the complete destruction of Hamas.

Part of the international community accuses Israel of exterminating Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The Israeli military says it is targeting exclusively Hamas infrastructure and claims it is locating its facilities in densely populated areas, using civilians as human shields.

According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 34 thousand Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed as a result of Israeli shelling. There is no independent confirmation of these data.