According to government circles, the US government of President Joe Biden informed Congress on Tuesday (local time) about an arms supply to Israel worth about one billion dollars (about 920 million euros). The US recently threatened to withhold weapons due to the Rafah offensive.
Congress must still approve the weapons package, a US government official said. It could include $700 million for tank munitions and $500 million for tactical vehicles.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the new weapons package. Last week, Biden threatened Israel with withholding some weapons in the event of a major offensive in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The US government also said it had suspended a shipment of bombs to Israel over concerns about Israel’s planned Rafah offensive.
Within a week, 450,000 people fled Rafah
Meanwhile, Israeli troops are advancing further into the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, which is overcrowded with refugees. Residents reported on Tuesday that tanks had advanced in neighborhoods east of the city on the border with Egypt. On Tuesday, tanks moved from the east into neighborhoods further west. Nearly 450,000 people fled Rafah within a week, according to UN estimates. According to the army’s findings, there are Israeli hostages in the area.
“We are committed to doing whatever is necessary to create the conditions for them to return to us quickly,” army spokesman Daniel Hagari said Tuesday evening. Hagari did not respond to reports that Israeli forces had pushed further into the city. He said more than 100 Palestinian fighters have been killed and 10 Islamist Hamas tunnels discovered since the Rafah offensive began last week.
Israel is making progress in Rafah despite international criticism
The Israeli army advanced into the city from the east a week ago and has since also controlled the Palestinian part of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt. Israel is exerting military pressure on the Islamist Hamas in Rafah to secure the release of hostages kidnapped in October. Israel also wants to destroy the remaining extremist battalions. The Israeli government continues to stick to its line of continuing attacks on Rafah, despite growing international criticism.
An unprecedented massacre by Hamas and other Islamist groups in Israel on October 7, 2023, killed around 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. The terrorist attack sparked the current Gaza war. The relatives of the hostages who remain in the Gaza Strip remain fearful of their return. Negotiations on a hostage deal recently stalled.
Source: Krone
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