What military support does the US give Israel?
A look at the financial, military and diplomatic support provided by Washington as calls mount for the US to reexamine its role amid Israel’s war with the Hamas terror regime in Gaza
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has prompted calls for Washington to put conditions on the billions of dollars in military funding and other assistance it provides to Israel, which, since World War II, has received more United States foreign aid from the US than any other country.
The following are details of US support for Israel as it fights Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
What aid is mandated by law?
In 2016, the US and Israeli governments signed a third 10-year memorandum of understanding, covering the period from Oct. 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 2028. The MOU provides a total of $38 billion in military aid over the 10 years, $33 billion in grants to buy military equipment and $5 billion for missile defense systems.
What advanced weapons systems does Israel get?
Israel is the first international operator of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, considered the most technologically advanced fighter jet ever made. Israel is in the process of buying 75 F-35s and — as of last year — had taken delivery of 36, paying for them with US assistance.
The US has also helped Israel develop and arm its Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system, developed after the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah. The United States has repeatedly sent Israel hundreds of millions of dollars to help replenish its interceptor missiles.
Washington has also helped fund the development of Israel’s “David’s Sling” system, designed to shoot down rockets fired from 100 kilometers to 200 km (62 miles to 124 miles) away.
Will Israel get more for its campaign against Hamas?
Last year, US President Joe Biden asked Congress to approve a $95 billion (NIS 354 billion) supplemental spending bill that included $14 billion (NIS 52 billion) for Israel, in addition to $60 billion (NIS 223 billion) for Ukraine, support for Taiwan and billions in humanitarian assistance.
That package passed the Senate with 70% support in February but has been blocked in the House, whose Republican leaders will not call it up for a vote, largely because of their objection to further funding for Ukraine.
It also faces resistance from a handful of left-leaning Democrats who object to sending more money to Israel while it pursues a military campaign that has killed more than 33,000 people in Gaza, according to the Strip’s Hamas-controlled health ministry.
The figure cannot be independently verified and includes some 13,000 Hamas gunmen Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking over 253 hostages.
How else does Washington support Israel?
The US has long used its veto power at the United Nations Security Council to block resolutions seen as critical of Israel. Earlier in the six-month-long war in Gaza, it vetoed measures that included calls for an immediate ceasefire that were not linked to a hostage release.
To pass in the Security Council, a resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no veto by the US, France, Britain, Russia or China.
In late March, Washington dropped its traditional protection of Israel by abstaining from a vote on a resolution demanding a ceasefire, instead of casting a veto, although it described the brief text as “non-binding.”
Washington has taken Israel’s side elsewhere. Former Republican US president Donald Trump withdrew the US from the world’s most important human rights body, the UN Human Rights Council, in protest of its repeatedly targeting Israel.
Also under Trump, the United States left the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), partly because of what his administration called a bias against Israel.
Trump also reversed decades of US policy in 2017 by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The status of Jerusalem — home to sites holy to the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian religions — has been one of the biggest obstacles to reaching a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
