U.S. Plans $320 Million Weapons Transfer to Israel as Gaza Toll Mounts
The Biden administration notified Congress of plans to send American-made precision Spice bombs
The Biden administration is planning a $320 million transfer of precision bombs for Israel, a major weapons deal that comes amid heightened concerns in Congress and among some U.S. officials about the rising civilian death toll during the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
The administration sent formal notification on Oct. 31 to congressional leaders of the planned transfer of Spice Family Gliding Bomb Assemblies, a type of precision guided weapons fired by warplanes, according to correspondence viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Under the agreement, weapons manufacturer Rafael USA would transfer the bombs to its Israeli parent company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for use by the Israeli defense ministry, the correspondence says. The plan also includes the provision of support, assembly, testing and other technology related to the weapons use. It follows a $402 million transfer of the same weapons that the administration first sought congressional approval for in 2020.
The planned weapons deal comes as the death toll in Gaza from Israel’s continuing assault on the enclave surpassed 10,000 people on Monday, according to the local Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The figure doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants but more than two-thirds of those killed in Gaza have been women, children and the elderly, according to the Health Ministry affiliated with the Palestinian Authority.
Officials at the departments of State and Defense didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Israel launched the current offensive in Gaza in response to a cross-border incursion by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,400 Israelis including many civilians. Israel has vowed to remove Hamas from power in response to the mass killing.
The Pentagon has refused to say how much military weapons, equipment and other aid it has provided Israel since the Oct. 7 attack.
After being the recipient of widespread Western and other international support in the aftermath of the Hamas attack, Israel is now facing a growing international outcry over killings of civilians and the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Israel has imposed a total siege on Gaza, cutting off supplies of food, water, electricity, medicine and other essentials. The military offensive has also displaced nearly 1.5 million people according to the United Nations. Some humanitarian aid has arrived via convoys of trucks from Egypt, but the delivered supplies are not nearly enough for the entire population of Gaza, according to the U.N. and aid groups.
A series of Israeli bombings that caused extensive casualties have heightened scrutiny on the Israeli military campaign, including a pair of bombings in Gaza’s Jabalia area last week that flattened apartment blocks and killed dozens of people. Israel said it was targeting Hamas personnel and infrastructure.
The Israeli bombing campaign has also hit U.N. installations including schools used as shelters for people who have fled their homes, hospitals and ambulances, and other civilian targets.
Israel has urged civilians to leave the north of the Gaza Strip as it encircles the area and attempts to crush Hamas. An Israeli military spokesman also said Israel’s forces limited capacity for precision strikes because they are stretched thin. The Israeli air force has said its strikes are causing “maximum damage.”