Reports: U.S. to Approve $680mn Package of Munitions, Small Bombs for Israel
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – The Biden administration has provisionally approved a $680m weapons package to the Zionist regime, several media outlets have reported, after U.S. President Joe Biden announced a ceasefire deal between the Zionist regime and Lebanon.
The weapons deal, reported by news outlets including The Financial Times and Reuters, includes thousands of additional joint direct attack munitions kits (JDAMs) and small-diameter bombs.
The arms package is separate from the $20bn arms deal to the regime that a small cadre of U.S. senators tried and failed to block this month.
The package also comes after the Biden administration had issued a letter to the regime in October, warning that if it did not take steps within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, then Washington would withhold weapons from the country.
However, that deadline came and went, and the U.S. eventually said it was satisfied with what the regime had done in terms of the humanitarian situation. However, aid deliveries to Gaza have fallen to record lows.
On Tuesday, Biden announced that a 60-day ceasefire between the Zionist regime and the powerful Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah would go into effect on 27 November at 4am local time.
Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the recent ceasefire in Lebanon was needed to “replenish stocks”, an apparent reference to the need for more weapons shipments from the U.S.
“And I say it openly: it is no secret that there have been big delays in weapons and munitions deliveries. These delays will be resolved soon,” Netanyahu said during an address. He didn’t specifically name the U.S.
“We will receive supplies of advanced weaponry that will keep our soldiers safe and give us more strike force to complete our mission.”
A U.S. official responded to Netanyahu’s remarks, firmly denying that there has been any delay from the U.S. in delivering weapons to the Zionist regime.
“Other than the shipment of 2,000-pound bombs, there is no policy delay or hold on anything. There’s just not,” a U.S. official told The Times of Israel.
Earlier this year, the U.S. delayed a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, saying it was to prevent an Israeli invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza. Israel invaded Rafah in May. However, the U.S. said it was not opposed to the Zionist aggression and claimed it wasn’t an invasion.