WASHINGTON: The United States will provide Israel with $3.5 billion for weapons and military equipment, the State Department announced on Friday.
The funds, part of a $14 billion supplemental funding package passed by Congress in April, were released months after being appropriated during Israel’s conflict with Gaza.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed that Congress was notified on Thursday about the decision to release the foreign military financing to Israel. CNN had earlier reported on the allocation of these funds.
Tensions in the Middle East are escalating, with concerns growing over a potential expansion of Israel’s conflict in Gaza, which has already resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and a severe humanitarian crisis.
The situation has become more volatile following the recent killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, both of which have led to threats of retaliation against Israel.
The latest surge in violence in the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages, according to Israeli reports.
Since then, the Gaza health ministry reports that Israel’s military operations in the Hamas-controlled enclave have resulted in the deaths of nearly 40,000 Palestinians and displaced almost the entire population of 2.3 million, creating a hunger crisis and leading to accusations of genocide, which Israel denies.
