Biden moves forward to send over $1 billion in new arms to Israel: Reports

The Joe Biden administration notified US Congress on Tuesday (May 14) that it was moving forward with over $1 billion in new weapons deals for Israel, multiple US media outlets reported citing Congressional officials. The development comes less than a week after the White House paused a shipment of bombs to Israel over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned Israeli assault on Rafah in southern Gaza.

Also read | Israel reacts to Biden's most direct warning against full blown Rafah invasion

The latest weapons package includes the potential transfer of $700 million in tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar shells, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

US sets in motion another big arms sale to Israel: What next?

The US State Department has now opened discussions with the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees about the possible sale due to the informal notification on Tuesday, CNN reported.

So far, there is no set timeline for when the Congress would officially be notified of the sale. Consequently, there is no timeline for when these weapons would actually be sent to Israel. 

Also watch | Israel-Hamas War: Israel to get US weapons despite shipment delay?

Last week's now-paused US shipment to Israel included 2,000-pound bombs and 500-pound bombs. The weapons supply pause came amid Washington's purported opposition to them being used in the densely populated areas of Rafah.

What does it mean?

The US officials cited by the US media say that other cases of weapons shipments to Israel — such as the one paused last week — would remain under review.

But simultaneously, the US officials also maintain that Washington will continue to make sure that Israel has the military capacity to defend itself. That is, the longer-term weapons deals with Israel will not be halted at this time.

"We are continuing to send military assistance, and we will ensure that Israel receives the full amount provided in the supplemental. We have paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs because we do not believe they should be dropped in densely populated cities. We are talking to the Israeli government about this," US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday.

(With inputs from agencies)