US to release $3.5 billion of Israel military aid package approved by Congress
CNN says the money will be spent on US arms that are currently being produced and will be delivered in the future, not immediate procurement
Washington will provide Israel $3.5 billion to spend on US weapons and military equipment, the State Department said on Friday, with the release of the money coming months after the US Congress appropriated it during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
A State Department spokesperson said on Friday that the department notified Congress on Thursday that the government intended to release the billions of dollars worth of foreign military financing to Israel.
CNN reported earlier on the release of this amount which comes from a $14 billion supplemental funding bill for Israel passed by Congress in April.
According to the report, the funds being released will not be used for the immediate procurement of weapons, but to pay for American systems currently being built and expected to be delivered in the future.
The release of the funds came amid concerns that the war in Gaza sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack and related skirmishes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border could turn into a broader regional conflagration, as Iran and Hezbollah threaten to retaliate for the killings of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the Lebanese terror group’s top military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
The US announced separately Friday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant about “ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.”
“The secretary reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and discussed how escalation is in no party’s interest,” the US readout said.
“He also underscored the importance of reaching a diplomatic resolution that allows both Israeli and Lebanese families to return to their homes.”
According to the statement, the call also touched on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, with Blinken stressing “the urgent need to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that would secure the release of hostages, allow a surge of humanitarian assistance, and create the conditions for broader regional stability.”
There was no immediate statement from Gallant’s office on the call.
