US State Dept moves $1 billion weapons aid for Israel to congressional review, officials say

[May 15, 2024]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department has moved a $1 billion package of weapons aid for Israel into the congressional review process, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday. 

The dome of the U.S. Capitol building is seen on a rainy day as the deadline to avert a government shutdown approaches in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis/ File Photo

The latest weapons package includes tank rounds, mortars and armored tactical vehicles, one of the officials told Reuters.

President Joe Biden said last week he had delayed a shipment of 2,000-pound (907-kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs to Israel over concerns they might be used for a major invasion of Rafah, a town in southern Gaza.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday that the U.S. would continue to provide the military assistance provided in a $26 billion supplemental funding bill passed last month, but the White House paused the bombs because "we do not believe they should be dropped in densely populated cities."

The chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations and the House Foreign Affairs committees review major foreign weapons deals.

Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to invade Rafah without safeguards for civilians, seven months into a war that has devastated Gaza.

Biden's support for Israel in its war against Hamas has emerged as a political liability for the president, particularly among young Democrats, as he runs for re-election this year.

(Reporting by Mike Stone and Steve Holland; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Costas and Sandra Maler)

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