US ‘QUIETLY’ RAMPING UP WEAPONS TRANSFERS TO ISRAEL: BLOOMBERG

Citing an internal defence department list, the US news outlet reported that the Pentagon is “delivering on requests that include more laser-guided missiles for its Apache gunship fleet, as well as 155mm shells, night-vision devices, bunker-buster munitions and new army vehicles”.

The weapons are listed in a document that Bloomberg said was dated in late October and is circulating at the Pentagon.

“The arms are already being shipped or the Defense Department is working to make them available from stockpiles in the US and Europe,” it said.

“As of late October, for example, all 36,000 rounds of 30mm cannon ammunition, 1,800 of the requested M141 bunker-buster munitions and at least 3,500 night-vision devices were delivered, the tally shows.”

Bloomberg said a Pentagon spokesman declined to discuss specifics, but the department said in a statement that it was “leveraging several avenues – from internal stocks to US industry channels – to ensure Israel has the means to defend itself”.

As Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip, rights advocates have urged Washington to stop providing unequivocal support to the Israeli government and end weapons transfers. The US gives Israel $3.8bn in military assistance every year.

How much military aid has Israel received from the US?

Israel is the most significant recipient of US foreign aid, having received some $263bn between 1946 and 2023.

This is almost double (1.7 times more) than the second-highest recipient of US foreign aid, Egypt, which received $151.9bn in the past 77 years.

Israel has long been seen by US legislators as an ally to help protect US strategic interests in the Middle East.

According to the US Congressional Research Service, factors for the continuing military support to Israel include shared strategic interests, “domestic US support for Israel” and “a mutual commitment to democratic values”.

US military funding to Israel topped $3.8bn in 2023, as part of a record $38bn deal over 10 years signed under former US President Barack Obama in 2016.

Between 1946 and 2023, the US has supported Israel with a total of $124bn in the form of military and defence aid.

Of the $3.8bn military aid provided to Israel this year, half a billion has been for Israel’s missile defences. Washington has stated that it will backfill Israeli munitions used against Hamas in the latest war.

Hours after the deadly Hamas attack inside Israel, it requested Iron Dome interceptors from the US, with President Joe Biden stating that Washington “will be rapidly providing the Israel Defence Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions”, which are scheduled to arrive within days.

The Biden administration is expected to set aside more money for Tel Aviv through a funding request to Congress. However, with the absence of a House speaker there could be a delay in congressional authorisation for such aid.

The US imposes conditions on how aid, particularly military aid, can be used. The Leahy Law prohibits the export of US defence articles to military units complicit in human rights abuses.

However, no Israeli unit has been penalised under this law.

Military aid to Israel greatly increased after the 1967 war when Israel defeated neighbouring Arab armies and began occupying the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.