According to U.S. officials familiar with the transaction, the Trump administration has reportedly requested congressional leaders to authorize fresh deliveries of approximately $1 billion worth of bombs and other military equipment to Israel while the White House attempts to maintain a precarious cease-fire in Gaza.
According to the officials, the planned weapons sales include more than $300 million worth of armored bulldozers manufactured by Caterpillar and 4,700 1,000-pound bombs, valued at over $700 million.
During his visit to Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Trump on Tuesday to discuss the cease-fire in Gaza, a separate truce in Lebanon, and tensions in the wider Middle East.
The new weapons requests would be funded by the billions of dollars in annual U.S. military aid to Israel.
Netanyahu and other Israeli officials are anticipated to put pressure on Trump to proceed with a different batch of weaponry supplies, which include more than $8 billion worth of additional bombs, missiles, and artillery rounds, that were first requested by the Biden administration.
Before it left office in January, the Biden administration informed influential members of Congress about that deal.
According to a legislative official, some Democratic members have put a hold on the weapons, preventing them from receiving complete clearance yet.
The potential arms transactions coincide with a critical juncture in the relationship between the United States and Israel.
Israel is involved in an uncomfortable cease-fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon in addition to the cease-fire in Gaza.
Trump supported Israel’s decision in late January to maintain a portion of its armed forces in southern Lebanon during the implementation of the cease-fire agreement.
When the United States intends to export weapons for more than a certain amount of money, the State Department alerts Congress.
Prior to the official congressional notification, the department informs the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees about those possible purchases.
To lower the number of civilian casualties in Gaza, a number of prominent Democrats and other members of Congress had urged the Biden administration to stop selling Israel weapons worth billions of dollars.
According to Palestinian health officials, more than 46,600 Gazans have died since the start of the conflict; they do not specify the number of combatants.
After Hamas invaded Israel, killing about 1,200 people and capturing another 250 captive, the conflict broke out.
The United States halted one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs in the lead-up to Israel’s spring offensive on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.
Last Monday, the Trump administration removed the ban and gave the indication that the president will not stop sending Israel weaponry in the future.
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