US approves $320 million sale of precision bombs to Israel amid international calls for ceasefire in Gaza

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The U.S. State Department has approved of sale of $320 million of military equipment, known as Spice Family Gliding Bomb Assemblies, to Israel. The equipment is used to turn unguided bombs into more precise, GPS-guided munitions.

According to the New York Times, “Modern militaries generally add the guidance systems on their bombs with the goal of minimizing civilian casualties.”

CNN wrote that the guidance equipment is similar to joint direct attack munitions, so-called JDAMs, produced in the United States. They “are also fin and steering kits that turn unguided ‘dumb’ bombs into guided ‘smart’ bombs. The US began expediting the delivery of JDAMs to Israel shortly after the start of the war, a senior defense official said in late October, which was one of Israel’s top needs, along with interceptor missiles for its aerial defense systems.”

Israel placed the order for the equipment prior to the attacks on Oct. 7, the morning that Hamas terrorists broke through the southern border from the Gaza Strip and brutally murdered more than 1,400 people and kidnapped at least 200 hostages into Gaza, while bombarding Israeli towns and cities with missiles.

The munitions will be purchased directly from an American company and not through the U.S. government, according to the New York Times, so the State Department is only required “to disclose its approval in narrow channels.”

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, an Israeli company owned by Israel's Ministry of Defense, is buying the equipment from its U.S. subsidiary, Rafael USA. The sale will also include “the provision of support, assembly, testing and other technology related to the weapons use,” according to the State Department’s letter to Congress.

“Rafael USA proposes to amend a technical assistance agreement with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in Israel to transfer defense articles, including technical data, and defense services to support procurement, inspection, assembly, testing and shipment of Spice Family Gliding Bomb Assemblies for end-use by the Ministry of Defense for Israel,” the letter stated.

The $325 million sale follows a $402 million transfer of the same weapons that the Biden administration first sought congressional approval for in 2020.

The Pentagon has not wanted to reveal how much military weaponry, equipment and other aid it has provided Israel since the Oct. 7 attack.

The U.S. has seen mass demonstrations against Israel since the Hamas massacre.

On Monday, anti-Israel protesters blocked a port in Washington, D.C. to prevent what the protesters claimed was a shipment of weapons to Israel from the United States. More than 100 protesters gathered for a “Block the Boat” demonstration, organized by a group called the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC).

The AROC had reportedly tried to block the ship from leaving the Port of Oakland in California a few days prior, according to Newsweek.

The U.S. Pentagon did not confirm whether the ship was headed toward Israel.

“Due to operational security, DoD does not provide further transportation, movement details or information regarding the cargo embarked on these vessels," Pentagon spokesperson Jeff Jurgensen wrote in a letter to Newsweek.

"We have no further information to provide at this time,” he added.