Official sources told AFP that US President Joe Biden's administration notified Congress on Tuesday of a $1 billion arms deal for Israel, one week after threatening to withhold certain supplies because of fears of a Rafah attack.
According to a US official, the administration formally informed Congress about the weapons deal, and Congress must now approve it. A congressional staffer, who also asked to remain anonymous, stated that the weapons were purchased for around $1 billion from US manufacturers.
The weaponry would be part of a huge $95 billion defense support package for Taiwan, Israel, and Ukraine that Congress just authorized. The Biden administration has stated repeatedly that it intends to proceed with allocating the funds through purchases from US manufacturers.
Last week, the Biden administration also acknowledged that it had stopped a shipment of explosives, including 2,000-pound ones, for the first time because of concerns that they may be used against people in Rafah, potentially posing a serious threat.
Given that Biden's Democratic Party has left-leaning members who are incensed by the death toll in the Gaza conflict, Congress still has the power to veto the arms sale to Israel.
Though the left opposed the deal as a whole, the opposing Republican Party nearly overwhelmingly supported arming Israel.