Rockets are fired at Israel from Gaza City, controlled by the Palestinian Hamas movement, on May 16, 2021.
U.S. media revealed that earlier this month, President Joe Biden approved the sale of $735 million worth of precision-guided weapons to Israel.
The Washington Post reported Monday (May 17) that members of Congress were notified of the sale on May 5, which preceded Israel’s military escalation with the Hamas terrorist group.
Some Democratic lawmakers expressed their displeasure with the arms sale, with Democratic members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee saying, “In the past week, Israeli military airstrikes have killed many civilians and destroyed the Associated Press building.” They believe pressure should be brought to bear on Israel for a cease-fire.
Most of the weapons proposed for sale to Israel are Joint Guided Attack Munitions (JDAMS), devices that transform so-called “duds” into precision-guided missiles.
Israel has purchased a large number of JDAMS in the past, saying its airstrikes on Gaza were precision-guided to avoid hitting civilians, but Israel has accused Hamas of using civilians in densely populated areas as “human shields.
The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza is in its second week. Palestinian officials in Gaza said last Sunday (May 16) was the deadliest day since the recent Israeli airstrikes, with more than 40 people killed. And the Israeli military says Palestinian militants have fired more than 3,250 rockets into Israel over the past week, and at least 10 Israelis have been killed by rocket attacks.
Biden has repeatedly said that Israel “has the right to defend itself from rocket attacks. In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Enjamin Netanyahu on Saturday (May 15), he said he strongly supported Israel’s right to defend itself against missile attacks from Tehran-backed Hamas and other terrorist groups.
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