The Biden administration is advancing a $680 million weapon package to Israel, a US official confirmed to The Times of Israel on Wednesday, while insisting that the arms sale was not tied to the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which went into effect hours earlier.
The Financial Times broke the story on the sale of thousands of joint direct attack munition kits (JDAMs), just hours after Biden administration officials briefing reporters on the ceasefire denied reports that Washington had agreed to transfer additional lethal weapons to Israel in exchange for Jerusalem signing onto the Lebanon deal.
The US official speaking to The Times of Israel on Wednesday stood by this assertion, explaining the JDAM sale has been in the works for several months and is just one of countless weapon shipments green-lit since Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, including ones in recent weeks before the Lebanon ceasefire was signed.
“There are constantly packages being advanced through various stages. This has nothing to do with the ceasefire in Lebanon,” the US official said.
“This case has been in the pipeline for some time now. Deliveries aren’t expected to start for at least a year, and this should be viewed in the context of long-term support for Israel’s defense and not tied to the ceasefire yesterday or any specific current activity,” said another US official.
The State Department declined to confirm the advancement of the JDAMs sale but did say that US support for Israel’s security against Iran-backed threats is “unwavering” and that no country can be expected to tolerate the threats Israel is facing.
US President Joe Biden announces a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Rose Garden of the White House on November 26, 2024, in Washington. (Saul Loeb/AFP)
The statement from the State Department said all weapon transfers are carried out in line with US law, which bars their use in the perpetration of war crimes or by countries that block the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians.
“We have made clear that Israel must comply with international humanitarian law, has a moral obligation and strategic imperative to protect civilians, investigate allegations of any wrongdoing, and ensure accountability for any abuses or violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law,” the State Department says.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed yesterday that the US has been delaying weapon shipments to Israel — setbacks that would end soon, he said, not so subtly referencing the January 20 inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
The Biden administration immediately denied Netanyahu’s claims, saying the only shipment that has been withheld is a package of 2,000-lb bombs that Washington is concerned would be used in densely populated areas.
Hebrew media reports in recent days quoted unnamed Netanyahu associates claiming that the Biden administration pledged to release withheld weapon shipments in exchange for Israel agreeing to a ceasefire in Lebanon. Other aides to the premier have highlighted that the return of Donald Trump to the White House would also ensure an end to the alleged delay of weapons shipments.
US special envoy Amos Hochstein, who was the chief mediator of the Lebanon ceasefire, said Wednesday that claims by Netanyahu’s office that the US had threatened to advance a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire if Israel rejected the US-brokered deal were also false.
