The United States has authorized the release of $3.5 billion to Israel for the purchase of American-made weapons and military equipment, the State Department announced on Friday.
This decision follows the U.S. Congress’s allocation of the funds as part of a supplemental $14 billion funding bill for Israel passed in April, during the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed that Congress was notified on Thursday about the government’s plan to provide this foreign military financing to Israel.
The approval was initially reported by CNN.
The situation in the Middle East remains tense, with growing concerns that the Israel-Hamas conflict, which has already resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and a significant humanitarian crisis, could escalate further.
The recent assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut have heightened fears of a broader regional war, as these events have led to threats of retaliation against Israel.
The latest violence in the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people and the capture of around 250 hostages, according to Israeli reports.
Since then, Israel’s military response has led to the deaths of nearly 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The military campaign has also displaced nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, causing widespread hunger and leading to accusations of genocide, which Israel denies.
