US approves $165 million sale to Israel of heavy-duty tank trailers
Arms package includes spare and repair parts, tool kits and technical and logistics support; delivery not expected until 2027
The US has approved $165 million in weapons sales to Israel to fund heavy-duty tank trailers, the State Department announced Thursday.
The systems include spare and repair parts, tool kits and technical and logistics support. They are not expected to be delivered until 2027.
Earlier this year, the US announced a mammoth $20 billion weapons support package for Israel to include F-15 fighter jets. Like the tank trailers, those systems will not be delivered for several years and will not affect current Israeli military operations amid the 11-month-old war with Hamas in Gaza, which was sparked by the terror group’s October 7 onslaught in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken.
The Biden administration has had to balance its continued support for Israel with a growing number of calls from lawmakers and the public to curb military support there due to the number of civilian deaths in Gaza.
It has curbed one delivery of 2,000-pound bombs, citing concerns they could be used in densely populated civilian areas in Gaza.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, more than 41,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 344.
