US plans to send weapons to Israel amid Biden push for ceasefire deal

The Biden administration is preparing to send bombs and other weapons to Israel that would add to its military arsenal even as the US pushes for a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, according to current and former US officials.

The proposed arms delivery includes roughly a thousand each of MK-82 bombs, KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions that add precision guidance to bombs, and FMU-139 bomb fuses, the officials said.

The arms are estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars. The proposed delivery is still being reviewed internally by the administration, a US official said, and the details of the proposal could change before the Biden administration notifies congressional committee leaders who would need to approve the transfer.

The planned weapons transfer comes during a crucial moment in the war in Gaza as Israel prepares to launch an assault on the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where more than one million Palestinians are sheltering from the war. Israel has said it needs to expand its military offensive in the area to attack Hamas militants hiding among civilians who have fled there from other areas of the strip.

The White House referred questions to the State Department and Defense Department, which both declined to comment. The Israeli Defense Ministry and Prime Minister’s Office didn’t respond to requests for comment. The Israeli military referred questions to the Defense Ministry.

An assessment of the proposed arms transfer drafted by the US Embassy in Jerusalem, and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, said the Israeli government requested “rapid acquisition of these items for the defense of Israel against continued and emerging regional threats.”

The assessment said there were no potential human rights concerns with the sale. “Israel takes effective action to prevent gross violations of human rights and to hold security forces responsible that violate those rights. In the past, Israel has been a transparent partner in U.S. investigations into allegations of defence article misuse,” the assessment says.

The US has provided roughly 21,000 precision-guided munitions to Israel since the start of the war, and Israel has used roughly half of those. According to a US intelligence assessment, the remaining weapons are enough for Israel to sustain 19 more weeks of fighting in Gaza. That span would shrink to days if Israel launched a second front against Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, according to a person familiar with the US assessment.