Report: Biden approves arms sale to Israel worth $680 million
The shipment is allegedly one of the reasons Netanyahu agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah • The agreement will include precision offensive ammunition, as well as small-diameter bombs
US President Joe Biden approved the sale of weapons to Israel worth $680 million, the Financial Times reported Wednesday. According to the report, the shipment is one of the reasons cited by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Senior US officials recently updated Congress on the plan to provide additional kits of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), as well as small-diameter bombs. The disclosure of such a planned weapons sale, which Congress has the ability to oppose, usually comes before public announcement of a deal.
Despite the report, American officials denied that there is a direct link between the ceasefire agreement and the approval of the latest arms shipment. While Washington supports a certain Israeli freedom of action in southern Lebanon, sources told the UK's Times that there is no agreement that includes guarantees for arms sales. American sources also deny that there were intentional delays to weapons shipments, except for shipments of 2,000 pound bombs.