US supplied 'Israel' with 16 types of weapons in 2023: Axios

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Axios
29 Nov 2023 16:31
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"Israel" stands as the largest recipient of U.S. foreign military financing, with the majority of aid taking the form of weapon grants.

A soldier launches a Javelin shoulder-launched anti-tank missile during a joint military exercise between the U.S, and the Philippines, April 13, 2023 (AP)

Referring to a comprehensive study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Arms Transfers Database, Axios reported that the United States has provided the Israelis with more than 70,000 units of weapons, including aircraft, ground vehicles, missiles, and bombs, as military aid between 1950 and 2022.

"Israel" stands as the largest recipient of U.S. foreign military financing, with the majority of aid taking the form of weapon grants.

According to Elias Yousif, a US arms transfer expert at the Stimson Center, it is a "safe assumption" that US weapons are extensively used in the ongoing Israeli operations in Gaza.

In 2023 alone, the U.S. has supplied "Israel" with at least sixteen types of weapons, including missiles and aircraft, although specific details regarding the exact numbers and types remain undisclosed.

Footage shows the moment a nine-year-old child was shot and killed by the Israeli occupation forces in #Jenin.#Palestine pic.twitter.com/QGZBq3bgfS
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 29, 2023

The Pentagon has declared that it will not impose restrictions on how the Israeli Occupation Forces utilize U.S.-provided weaponry. However, the Biden administration has urged "Israel" to minimize civilian casualties and has endorsed humanitarian pauses in the conflict.

Zooming in on the types of weapons supplied, Axios mentions Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) as the most common weapon system provided by the US to "Israel".

Boeing recently expedited the delivery of 1,800 JDAM kits to "Israel", accelerating a 2021 sale originally slated for fulfillment over several years.

"Israel" maintains access to some of the most advanced US military technology, and approximately 15% of "Israel's" annual defense budget is attributed to U.S. support, according to Axios' Jacob Knutson.

Since the United States has been aiding "Israel" in its relentless manic aggression on Gaza after October 7, the Defense Department has dispatched an extra aircraft carrier strike group, air defenses, fighter jets, and hundreds of troops to the Middle East in an effort to prevent the situation from escalating into a regional war. However, according to Politico, the main problem in this framework is congressional dysfunction, which means that the Pentagon is unable to fund the buildup.

The federal government's temporary financing happens to include the military as well, and this freezes expenditure at the same levels as the previous year. Because the personnel transfers in the Middle East were unplanned, the Pentagon was forced to draw funds from existing operations and maintenance accounts, according to DOD spokesperson Chris Sherwood. President Joe Biden approved a temporary bill last month to keep the government operational until the end of the fiscal year.

According to Sherwood, this means drills and deployments scheduled for the year will have less funding, and some contractual payments may be delayed.

He detailed that “neither the basic budget proposal nor the fiscal year 2024 supplemental request contained financing for US-Israel missions," adding, "We're taking it out of hide."

The buildup has included prolonging the presence of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group off the coast of "Israel" and has forced military departments and US Central Command to reassess the requirements for current and future operations based on the developing conflict, he added.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Defense stated that it was still working on issuing an estimate of the entire cost of US support for "Israel's" war on Gaza.