The State Department approved the transfer of more than 1,000 MK82 500-pound bombs, over 1,000 small-diameter bombs, and fuses for MK80 bombs, all from authorizations granted by Congress several years before the latest hostilities between Israel and Hamas began, said the U.S. officials, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive arms deals.

Officials have not publicly disclosed what type of munition struck the aid truck, but the small-diameter bombs the United States has provided to Israel are “certainly comparable,” said Josh Paul, a former State Department arms expert who resigned in protest of the administration’s Gaza policy.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The Biden administration approved the transfer of thousands more bombs to Israel on the same day Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed seven aid workers for the charity group World Central Kitchen, three U.S. officials told The Washington Post this week after the incident elicited global condemnation.

    The transaction demonstrates the administration’s determination to continue its flow of lethal weaponry to Israel despite Monday’s high-profile killings and growing calls for the United States to condition such support on greater protection for civilians in the war zone.

    The Israeli siege has created a chronic shortage of food, water and medicine as the health system has collapsed and dozens of children have died of malnutrition and starvation, according to the United Nations.

    The latest arms transfers represent small portions, valued in the millions of dollars, of much larger foreign military sales that were approved by Congress years ago but never fulfilled in their entirety.

    When asked Tuesday about the State Department’s role in continued arms transfers, Blinken cited regional threats to Israel from Iran and Hezbollah, saying the weapons “go to deterrence, trying to avoid more conflicts.

    But U.S. weapons are also being used in Gaza, which U.S. intelligence officials and a growing number of Democrats worry could pose a security threat to the United States from extremist groups seeking to retaliate against Washington’s policies.

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