The US State Department announced on Friday that Washington will provide Israel with $3.5 billion to spend on American weapons and military equipment. This release of funds comes after months of congressional allocation during the ongoing war in Gaza. A department spokesperson informed Congress on Thursday that the U.S. government intends to release billions of dollars in foreign military funding to Israel, as reported by Reuters.
CNN previously reported that this funding release is part of a larger $14 billion supplemental funding bill for Israel that Congress passed last April. This decision comes at a time when tensions in the Middle East are escalating, with many fearing the expansion of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has already resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused a humanitarian crisis.
The risk of escalation to a broader war in the Middle East increased after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Iran, and Fouad Shukr, a senior military commander of Hezbollah in Beirut, which has triggered threats of retaliation against Israel.
The Israeli forces continue their aggression on the Gaza Strip by land, sea, and air since October 7 last year, resulting in the death of 39,699 Palestinians, mostly children and women, and injuring 91,722 others. This is a preliminary toll, as thousands of victims remain under the rubble and on the streets, unreachable by rescue and ambulance crews.
