US State Dept moves $1 bln weapons aid for Israel to congressional review, officials say
The U.S. State Department has moved a $1 billion package of weapons aid for Israel into the congressional review process, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday, Paralel.Az reports citing Reuters.
The latest weapons package includes tank rounds, mortars and armored tactical vehicles, one of the officials told Reuters.
President Joe Biden said last week he had delayed a shipment of 2,000-pound (907-kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs to Israel over concerns they might be used for a major invasion of Rafah, a town in southern Gaza.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday that the U.S. would continue to provide the military assistance provided in a $26 billion supplemental funding bill passed last month, but the White House paused the bombs because "we do not believe they should be dropped in densely populated cities."
The chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations and the House Foreign Affairs committees review major foreign weapons deals.