U.S.-based newspaper Wall Street Journal reported Saturday citing American sources that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration plans to send weapons to Israel at an estimated worth of tens of millions of dollars, despite the United States’ push for a cease-fire in Gaza amid the ongoing war.
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According to the report, the proposed weapons delivery includes 1,000 MK-82 bombs, KMU-572 ammunition, which adds precise guidance to the bombs, and FMU-139 bomb fuses. One of the sources noted that the plan is still undergoing internal review by the U.S. government, and the details of the delivery may change before it's brought for approval by the congressional committee.
“The planned weapons transfer comes during a crucial moment in the war in Gaza as Israel prepares to launch an assault on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where more than one million Palestinians are sheltering from the war,” the report read, adding the Israeli government has requested “rapid acquisition of these items for the defense of Israel against continued and emerging regional threats.”
The sources added that precision-guided ammunition would enable better targeting against Hamas leaders and improve the hit rate in areas where terrorists are hiding in underground facilities. Although MK-82 bombs aren’t as precise as guided ammunition, it was noted that Israel has kits that can be attached to the bombs to improve their accuracy.
A former American official said the transfer would be funded under the U.S. military aid to Israel. The vast majority of weapons purchases from Washington come from the billions of dollars Jerusalem receives in annual government funding to bolster the IDF.