Gaza Strip
Even as thousands died to Israeli retaliatory fire on Gaza, the United States, as per a damning report, made over 100 weapons sales to Israel, including thousands of bombs, since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
The war which began on Oct 7 with militant group Hamas' cross-border attack on Israel has to date claimed around 31,200 lives — 1,200 Israelis that were killed in the initial Hamas attack and around 30,000 Palestinians.
US' clandestine weapon sales to Israel
As per a Washington Post report, since the start of the Gaza war, the US has made over 100 weapon sales to Israel. These transactions, however, escaped congressional approval due to a loophole — their individual amounts were below the threshold requiring such oversight.
This revelation comes as the Biden administration has increasingly been publicly critical of Israel's military operations in Gaza and its limited humanitarian aid access.
Also read | Israel-Hamas war: US airdrops fresh round of humanitarian aid to Gaza; 36,800 meals delivered
Apparently, even as America voiced humanitarian concerns, it has quietly continued to provide substantial munitions to replace the tens and thousands of bombs dropped on the Gaza Strip.
As per the Washington Post report, administration officials were recently informed of these sales via a classified briefing.
Only a few details of these sales are known, because to keep them small, their contents were kept secret. Reportedly, these sales included precision-guided munitions, small-diameter bombs, bunker busters, small arms, and other lethal aid.
US Arms Export Control Law
As per The Guardian, the Arms Export Control Act allows exceptions for arms sales to close allies, with a limit of $25 million for "major defence equipment" and $100 million for other "defence articles" like bombs.
Ari Tolany, director of the security assistance monitor at the Center for International Policy, a think tank, criticised this loophole as an attempt to avoid transparency and accountability.
"This doesn’t just seem like an attempt to avoid technical compliance with US arms export law, it’s an extremely troubling way to avoid transparency and accountability on a high-profile issue," she said.
The Biden administration's actions compare to those of the Trump administration, which as per findings of the State Department Office of the Inspector General made thousands of below-threshold arms transfers to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, totalling an estimated $11.2 billion.
In exploiting this loophole, "They're very much borrowing from the Trump playbook to dodge congressional oversight," said Tolany.
These clandestine sales are besides the three major military sales publicly disclosed since the conflict's onset: $320 million worth of precision bomb kits in November and 14,000 tank shells valued at $106 million. Furthermore, $147.5 million was allocated for fuses and other components essential for the production of 155 mm artillery shells in December.
Notably, the deliveries in December, which included tank and artillery shells, also evaded congressional scrutiny by being executed under emergency authority.
On Monday (Mar 4), Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesperson in a press briefing, said, "We continue to support Israel’s campaign to ensure that the attacks of 7 October cannot be repeated. We have provided military assistance to Israel because it is consistent with that goal."
"We support Israel’s legitimate military campaign consistent with international humanitarian law."
(With inputs from agencies)