CNN
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The U.S. State Department on Tuesday approved possible arms sales to Israel totaling about $20 billion, including an expected sale of up to 50 F-15 fighter jets valued at more than $18 billion.
The F-15 sale is believed to be the largest arms package for Israel and was announced at the same time as the approved sale of medium-range tactical vehicles, medium-range air-to-air missiles, high-explosive mortar shells and tank shells. Notification of the State Department’s approval of these sales was sent to Congress on Tuesday, according to press releases from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
Arms sales must be approved by Congress. In most cases, the administration formally notifies Congress of planned arms sales after informal discussions with the chairs of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees. Once the sales are officially announced, as they were on Tuesday, lawmakers have 30 days to block them. They can do this by passing a joint resolution of disapproval.
Deliveries of the equipment will not begin for several years. The planes, for example, are not expected to be delivered until 2029. Two key Democrats in Congress approved the major F-15 sale in June. CNN reported on Friday that the State Department told lawmakers it was providing Israel with $3.5 billion to buy American weapons and military equipment.
Although the weapons will not be delivered for several years, the sale is nevertheless likely to provoke an outcry from critics of the Biden administration’s policy toward the war in Gaza. The US government has come under sharp criticism for what some say is its failure to put pressure on Israel to continue the war that has killed tens of thousands of people in the Palestinian enclave.
The announcement of the sales comes against a backdrop of significantly increased tensions in the Middle East as the region braces for possible Iranian retaliation against Israel following the assassination of Hamas politician Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. Israel has not commented on the killing. The announcement also comes ahead of the expected resumption of ceasefire talks later this week and just days after an Israeli attack on a mosque and a school in Gaza that killed at least 93 people.
The Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry estimates that nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas. The United Nations estimates that nearly 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant thanked Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a post on X on Tuesday for “promoting critical force-building initiatives that help Israel expand and maintain its qualitative military advantage in the region.”
“As we fight on seven different fronts in defense of Israel, your message of support and commitment to Israel’s security is clear,” he said.
In total, the approved sales announced Tuesday included up to 50 F-15IA multirole fighter aircraft and fighter jet mid-life update conversion kits and other related equipment valued at $18.82 billion; 30 AIM-120C-8 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAMs) and an AMRAAM guidance system for an estimated $102.5 million; 32,739 120mm tank shells and other equipment for an estimated $774.1 million; 50,000 high-explosive mortar shells and related equipment for an estimated $61.1 million; and an unknown number of modified 8-ton Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles trucks and related equipment for an estimated $583.1 million.
DSCA press releases on the equipment say it will improve Israel’s ability to “counter current and future hostile threats” and “serve as a deterrent against regional threats.”
