Biden plans to send $8 billion weapons to Israel

The shipment of weapons, which needs approval from the House and Senate committees, includes rockets, shells and other ammunition.

The movement comes just over two weeks before President Joe Biden leaves office. Washington has rejected calls to suspend military support for Israel because of the number of civilians killed during the war in Gaza.

In August, the US approved the sale of $20 billion of fighter aircraft and other military equipment to Israel.

The latest planned shipment contains air-air missiles, Hellfire missiles, artillery shells and bombs, the US official said.

A source familiar with the sale told the BBC on Saturday: the president has made it clear that Israel has the right to protect its citizens, in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law, and to prevent aggression by Iran and its representative organisations.

“We will continue to provide the necessary skills for Israel's defence. ”

Beden has often described US support for Israel as iron.

The US so far is Israel's largest weapons supplier, helping it build one of the most sophisticated and technological armies in the world.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the US made up 69% of Israel's imports of major conventional weapons between 2019 and 2023.

In May 2024, the U.S. confirmed that they had stopped a single shipment of 2000 lb and 500 lbs due to concerns Israel was continuing with a major ground operation in the southern city of Gaza, Rafah. But Beden immediately faced a sharp response from the Republicans in Washington and from Netanyah, who seemed to compare it to a “weapons embargo”. Since then, Biden has partially removed the suspension and has not repeated it.

The planned shipment is one of a series of steps taken by the Biden administration in recent weeks, while the outgoing president tries to support his legacy.

This is likely also the latest planned arms sale in Israel before he leaves the White House on January 2025, when his successor Donald Trump is inaugurated.

The president-elect has previously spoken of ending foreign conflicts and reducing US involvement, including during his bid for re-election.

Trump has positioned himself as a staunch Israeli supporter, but has urged the US ally to wrap up his military operation in Gaza soon.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were taken hostage.

More than 45,580 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.