US Plans $2.8bn Arms Sale to Israel

The Trump administration plans to sell Israel approximately $2.8bn worth of ammunition, including 40,000 aerial bombs weighing about 907 kg each, a US official familiar with the planned sale said on Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity. The Washington Post first reported the plans.

The proposed sale, which has been informally presented to the relevant congressional committees, includes 20,000 MK 84 bombs and the same number of BLU-117 bombs.

Neither the US State Department nor the Israeli Embassy in Washington immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.

Israel regularly uses the bombs in military operations in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Their destructive power has drawn scrutiny from human rights experts.

According to Gaza's Hamas-run health authority, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military operation. A UN commission of inquiry has issued reports stating that Israeli authorities and forces committed genocide in Gaza, an accusation Israel rejects.

(Reuters, im)