The United States plans to finalize an $8 billion arms deal with the Israeli occupation regime following its failure to intercept Yemeni missiles and drones amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
According to Axios, two sources revealed that President Joe Biden’s administration has notified Congress of the potential sale, which includes munitions for fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery shells.
This deal is expected to be one of the last major arms sales to Israel approved under Biden’s administration.
Despite calls from some Democratic lawmakers to condition arms sales to Israel on addressing the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Biden has rejected attaching such stipulations to the deal, Axios reports.
The package includes AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles designed to counter aerial threats, including drones, after the failed interception of Yemeni missiles and UAVs. It also features AGM-114 Hellfire missiles for attack helicopters, 155mm artillery shells, small-diameter bombs, JDAM kits for converting traditional bombs into precision-guided munitions, 500-pound warheads, and bomb fuses.
The Yemeni Armed Forces have been conducting advanced strikes on sensitive Israeli targets using “Palestine-2” hypersonic missiles, “Zulfiqar” ballistic missiles, and drones such as the “Samad-4” and “Yafa.” These operations, part of the fifth phase of support for Gaza, have successfully hit their objectives while exposing the ineffectiveness of Israel’s defenses.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, U.S. military support for Israel has amounted to approximately $22 billion, according to Hebrew media.
The Hebrew website Walla! cited the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), stating that the U.S. provided 69% of Israel’s military aid between 2019 and 2023, rising to 78% in subsequent periods.
