Biden administration planning $8 billion arms sale to Israel as Gaza war continues

The US State Department has informed Congress of a planned $8 billion (€7.7 billion) weapons sale to Israel, as the American ally presses forward with its war against Hamas in Gaza.

Some of the arms in the package could be sent through current US stocks but the majority would take a year or several years to deliver, according to two anonymous US officials.

The sale includes medium-range air-to-air missiles to help Israel defend against airborne threats, 155 mm projectile artillery shells for long-range targeting, Hellfire AGM-114 missiles, 500-pound bombs and other weaponry.

The weapons package would add to a record of at least $17.9 billion (€17.3 billion) in military aid that Washington has provided Israel with since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

The informal notice to Congress isn’t the final notification before a sale. Now the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee or the Senate Foreign Relations Committee can review the package.

The informal notice to Congress isn't the final notification before a sale. Now the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee or the Senate Foreign Relations Committee can review the package.

The Biden administration has faced criticism over the mounting Palestinian civilian death toll with demonstrations on college campuses and unsuccessful efforts in Congress to block sales of offensive weapons to Israel.

The US paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in May over concerns about civilian casualties if the bombs were to be used during an assault on the southern city of Rafah.

The Biden administration has also demanded that Israel increase humanitarian aid into the enclave. But in November, citing some limited progress, it declined to limit arms transfers as it had threatened to do if the situation did not improve.

Strikes on Gaza

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 21 people, including at least two children, in Gaza on Saturday while a new effort at ceasefire talks was underway in Qatar after nearly 15 months of war.

Thousands rallied again in Israel to press for a ceasefire deal, hours after Hamas released a video showing one of the hostages still being held in Gaza.

In the video, Israeli soldier and hostage Liri Albag, speaking under duress, expressed anguish over her situation and mentioned being held for 450 days.

"Today is the beginning of a new year; the whole world is celebrating. Only we are entering a dark year, a year of loneliness," she said.

She also said a fellow captive had been wounded by the fighting in Gaza, adding, "We are living in an extremely terrifying nightmare." She didn't name the injured person.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he spoke with Albag's parents and told them that "efforts are ongoing, including at this very moment" to bring hostages home.

Albag's family in a statement said that "It's time to make decisions as if your own children were there!"

The war in the Strip started after a Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel on 7 October 2023 which saw around 1,200 people killed and 250 others taken as hostages back to Gaza.

Around 100 remain captive in the Strip but Israeli officials believe at least a third of them are dead.

There were no immediate statements on the indirect negotiations toward a ceasefire.

The talks have repeatedly stalled as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to press on in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed.

Fighters with Hamas, which wants Israeli forces out of Gaza completely, continue to regroup in areas where Israeli forces withdraw.

The talks are mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

The war has caused widespread destruction across the Strip and displaced about 90% of the population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times.

The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 45,500 Palestinians have been killed, but officials don't distinguish between combatants and civilians in the tally.