Reporting on Tuesday indicated US President Joe Biden is preparing to send $1.25 billion worth of weapons and ammunition to Israel despite putting a separate arms transfer on hold just days ago.
The news emerged late in the day based on reports from three congressional aides speaking on condition of anonymity.
The package will reportedly include $700 million worth of tank ammunition, $500 million for tactical vehicles and $60 million for mortar rounds. It is currently unconfirmed when exactly the weapons package will be sent.
The news comes just one week after the Biden administration announced a hold on the provision of 2,000 pound bombs to Israel, citing concerns over the potential for mass civilian casualties as Israel attacks Rafah. The crowded southern Gazan city is currently home to over 1.5 million Palestinians, many of them refugees from other parts of the territory.
Biden has previously suggested an Israeli incursion into the city would constitute a “red line,” before immediately walking the comment back during a heavily criticized interview on cable news channel MSNBC.
The US president was pilloried by conservative and pro-Israel lawmakers after announcing the hold on heavy weaponry last week as White House spokespeople quickly clarified the administration would continue to provide Israel with various other forms of lethal aid.
The announcement of the new weapons package may be seen as a response to criticism from pro-Israel forces as the octogenarian US leader prepares to seek reelection, hoping to keep the powerful Zionist lobby on his side.
The Biden administration previously contradicted itself in March after voting “present” during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, allowing a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s seven-month assault on Gaza to pass. White House officials quickly insisted the resolution was “non-binding,” a characterization criticized by international law experts.