More arms transfers are approved as Israel bombs Gaza and prepares for anticipated retaliatory strikes from Iran and Hezbollah.
The United States approved an additional $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 approved the arms sale, which includes dozens of fighter jets, 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 prepares for expected retaliation from Iran and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group following the assassinations of senior Hamas and Hezbollah officials, which raised concerns about the possibility of a regional war.
The US has said it is working to avoid such an escalation. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that Iranian retaliation could be avoided if a ceasefire agreement was 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 assistance shipments.
Critics have called on the Biden administration to halt arms transfers to Israel, claiming they make the U.S. complicit in the destruction of Gaza and are a key source of influence that the administration has refused to exploit in its efforts to secure a cease-and-desist agreement. fire. to end the war, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted will continue.
Reports that Israeli forces are systematically violating international law and committing abuses such as torture have also failed to stop the flow of weapons, despite requirements under US law that military units credibly accused of serious human rights violations be cut. of support.
Speaking before the United Nations on Tuesday, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said her country’s aim in the region was to “lower the temperature”.
“This begins with finalizing an agreement for an immediate ceasefire with the release of hostages in Gaza. We need to get this to the finish line,” she said in statements to the UN Security Council.
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