White House downplays reports US has been authorizing major weapons sales to Israel

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby aggressively downplays reports that the US has been approving major weapons sales to Israel, even as it says Jerusalem is failing to protect civilians in Gaza.

“With the exception of the immediate two months after the attack, we haven’t really sent emergency aid and military assistance to Israel,” Kirby says during a press briefing.

“What you’re seeing here is the result of a process of foreign military sales to Israel that takes years,” explaining that much of the reporting is framing these sales as new when they were often green-lit months, if not years ago.