Last updated on August 29th, 2024 at 06:31 pm
Washington: The Biden administration signed off on more than $20 billion in new arms sales to Israel on Tuesday, as it faces growing calls from human rights advocates to block deliveries amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The move comes just days after President Biden called upon both Israel and Hamas to cease hostilities following ten months of fierce fighting.
Details of Major Arms Deal
The State Department, in notification to Congress, confirmed that it had approved an estimated $18.82 billion sale of 50 F-15 fighter jets to Israel. It also includes almost 33,000 tank cartridges, up to 50,000 explosive mortar rounds, and new military cargo vehicles. With deliveries expected to begin in 2029, the F-15 jets will radically modernize Israel’s current air fleet with advanced radars and secure communications systems.
Humanitarian Concerns and Criticism
The move has drawn ire from human rights groups and some liberal members of Biden’s own Democratic Party who have pressed for a reduction or full freeze on arms sales to Israel as civilian casualties mount in Gaza. Palestinian rescuers on Sunday retrieved 93 bodies from a school sheltering displaced persons from what appeared to be an Israeli airstrike. Israel maintained the strike was against militants working from the school.
Freeze on Arms Shipment Before
In May, President Biden put a hold on an arms shipment of 2,000-pound bombs bound for Israel and told leaders to steer clear of a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah, a southern Gaza city now teeming with Palestinians who had recently fled their homes. But it did not halt all other arms shipments and dismissed concerns cited in June by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel about delays in other shipments.
The Fighting in Gaza
The Gaza conflict – sparked by the October 7 attack that Hamas launched against southern Israel – has resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures. Hamas militants had also kidnapped 251 people, of whom 111 were still held captive in Gaza, including 39 that the Israeli military is shown to have died. In response, Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed at least 39,929 people according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilian and militant casualties.
