More arms transfers approved as Israel bombs Gaza and prepares for anticipated retaliatory strikes from Iran and Hezbollah.
The United States has approved another $20 billion in arms transfers to Israel, despite concerns that Israeli forces are systematically violating international law in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
The State Department announced Tuesday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had approved the arms sale, which includes dozens of fighter jets along with tank ammunition and air-to-air missiles.
“The United States is committed to Israel’s security, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to help Israel develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability,” the State Department said.
The announcement came as Israel braces for expected retaliation from Iran and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group following the killings of senior Hamas and Hezbollah officials, which have raised concerns about the possibility of a regional war.
The United States has said it is working to prevent such an escalation. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that an Iranian retaliation could be avoided if a ceasefire agreement is reached to end the war in Gaza, where Israeli forces have killed nearly 40,000 people, mostly women and children, razed entire neighborhoods and blocked humanitarian aid shipments.
Critics have called on the Biden administration to cut off arms transfers to Israel, arguing they make the United States complicit in the destruction of Gaza and are a key source of leverage that the administration has refused to exploit in its efforts to secure a ceasefire deal to end the war, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted will continue.
Reports that Israeli forces systematically violate international law and commit abuses such as torture have also failed to stem the flow of weapons, despite requirements under U.S. law that support be cut off to military units credibly accused of serious human rights violations.
Speaking at the United Nations on Tuesday, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said her country's goal in the region was to “bring down the temperature.”
“That starts with reaching an agreement for an immediate ceasefire and the release of the hostages in Gaza. We have to bring this to an end,” he said in his remarks to the UN Security Council.
