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Israel Reportedly Requests $10 Bln Aid Package From US

© AFP 2023 / JIM WATSONUS President Joe Biden shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they meet on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 20, 2023.
US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they meet on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 20, 2023.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 17.10.2023
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The Israeli military said last week that a US aircraft had landed in the Jewish state with the first shipment of American ammunition for Tel Aviv since the October 7 escalation of the Palestine-Israel conflict.
Israel has asked the US for $10 billion in emergency military aid, an American newspaper cited unnamed sources as saying.
The sources argued that the US Congress is coordinating the issue with the White House as lawmakers seek to link the Israel aid package with assistance to Ukraine and Taiwan, as well as funds to fortify the US-Mexico border.
The claims come after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Congress mulls providing Israel with replacement ammunition for the Iron Dome air defense system, precision-guided bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kits to turn standard bombs into precision ones and 155-mm shells.
In a separate development, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul told a US news network that his panel is drafting legislation to authorize US military force if the current conflict escalates into a possible proxy war with Iran.
“I’m currently preparing a draft of that in the event it is called upon and is necessary, but most importantly is supported by the American people,” he said, referring to the legislation, titled “Authorization of Use for Military Force.”
When asked whether the White House had specifically asked for such an authorization, McCaul said, "I don't want to confirm that. It's just that there is concern that — we, I'm currently, we're currently drafting one in the event it's necessary."
Dwelling on what this possible authorization might entail, the lawmaker noted, “I'd prefer not to put Iran as a nation state in there. It would be more Iran proxies, you know, like Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran-backed Shi’ia militias, but if Iran gets directly involved, then we would have to put them on the list."
McCall also made it clear that he doesn’t want the legislation to come into force.
"I hope I never have to mark this bill up. But we have a situation in the Middle East that’s growing day by day with intensity and […] Iran has already threatened if […] IDF (Israel Defense Forces) goes into Gaza that they're gonna come out,” he said, claiming that Lebanon-based Hezbollah movement could also be involved in the Hamas­-Israel conflict.
The remarks followed the Israeli military announcing the arrival of the first US transport aircraft carrying “advanced American ammunition” for the Jewish state.
The IDF stated that “a first plane carrying American ammunition had landed in Israel after the US said it would send new supplies of air defenses, munitions and other security assistance to its ally to battle Palestinian Hamas militants.”
On October 7, the militant group Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, firing a barrage of rockets and infiltrating the Jewish state by land, sea and air. Hamas said that they had started the operation in response to the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and increasing settler violence against Palestinians.
Israel retaliated by announcing the start of Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which is currently pounded by IDF airstrikes. The Palestinian health ministry said that more than 2,800 people, including women and children, had died in these airstrikes, while Israel’s death toll from the October 7 Hamas attack stands at 1,400, according to the IDF.
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