US State Department Approves Potential $7.41 Billion Foreign Military Sale to Israel

Washington, MINA – The US State Department has approved a potential $7.41 billion foreign military sale to Israel, the Pentagon announced Friday, Anadolu Agency reported.

The department approved the sale of “munitions, guidance devices, fuses, and ammunition support, along with related equipment, for an estimated cost of $6.75 billion,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.

Separately, the department made a determination approving the possible sale of “AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $660 million.”

The agency filed the certification required to notify Congress of the potential sale on Friday.

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“The United States is committed to Israel’s security, and it is critical to U.S. national interests to help Israel develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability,” he added.

The announcement comes amid a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.S. capital, Washington, where he met with President Donald Trump to discuss bilateral relations and the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

Last month, Trump announced that he was lifting a moratorium imposed by the previous Biden administration on supplies of bombs to Israel.

In May, then-President Joe Biden halted weapons shipments that included the 2,000-pound bombs that Israel had used to flatten large parts of Gaza.

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Biden made the decision out of concern over the bombs’ possible use in densely populated areas.

The US has long been criticized for its support for Israel in its war on Gaza, in which more than 47,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed since October 7, 2023.

Several American lawmakers, including Senator Bernie Sanders, have frequently called for the US government to stop supplying arms to Israel and its involvement in Israel’s war on Gaza. []

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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