Biden administration seeks $8 billion arms sale to Israel

The Biden administration has notified the U.S. Congress of its intention to pursue an $8 billion arms sale agreement to Israel, the Axios news outlet reported on Friday. Two unnamed sources revealed that the proposal includes the sale of munitions for fighter jets and attack helicopters for the Israeli Air Force (IAF).

The deal would allegedly include artillery shells and air-to-air missiles, with an overall purpose of boosting Israel's offensive and defensive capabilities against hostile missiles and drones.

"The President has made clear Israel has a right to defend its citizens, consistent with international law and international humanitarian law, and to deter aggression from Iran and its proxy organizations," the official told Axios. The House and Senate committees first need to greenlight the deal.

With just about two weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Jan 20, the arms sale will most likely be the final military deal under the outgoing Biden administration.

Following the unprecedented Hamas massacre of over 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 251 people from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Biden has generally backed the State of Israel's right to defend itself against the Iranian regime and its terror proxies Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. At the same time, the Biden administration has attempted to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.

During the past 15 months of war, the Biden administration has faced domestic and international criticism for supporting Israel. As a result, the U.S. has pressured Israel regarding concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza amid the battles.

In May, Biden warned Israel that it would have to choose between launching a military operation in the southern Gazan town of Rafah or risk losing some U.S. weapons systems.

“I’ve made it clear to Bibi and the War Cabinet, they’re not going to get our support if, in fact, they go into these population centers,” Biden said in an interview.

At the time, the bulk of Hamas’ remaining forces were in Rafah, embedded among hundreds of thousands of civilians who had fled from other parts of the coastal enclave. The Biden administration was concerned that a large-scale Israeli military operation would lead to a large number of civilian casualties, which in the event proved to be inaccurate.

However, the U.S. president stressed that he would continue backing the supply of defensive arms to Israel.

“We’re not walking away from Israel’s security; we’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas,” Biden continued.

In September, U.S. Republican Sen. Tom Cotton and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell accused the Biden administration of deliberately delaying arms deliveries to Israel.

“We write to strongly condemn your administration's continued delay in providing critical military equipment and weapons to our ally Israel in the midst of an existential war. Delays of equipment that Israel requires to win its multi-front war against Iranian-terrorist proxies, compounded by statements by administration officials blaming Israel for escalation, undercut Israel’s efforts to restore deterrence by emboldening the Iranian-backed terrorists,” the senators stated in a joint letter.

The Biden administration has largely denied that it delayed arms deliveries to Israel. In late November, following the ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, the Biden administration advanced a $680 million arms deal to Israel.