White House boasts of giving Israel $6.5 billion in weapons since October 7

Lina Portman1 week ago

0 4 minutes read

The United States has provided Israel with more than $6.5 billion in weapons since October 7, the White House announced Wednesday, underscoring the extent of the Biden administration's support for the continued genocide in Gaza.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, left in black, sit for a meeting at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. [AP Photo/Susan Walsh]

Distributed over just nine months, this figure represents almost double the annual US military aid budget to Israel of $3.4 billion, and will be supplemented by $14 billion in arms funding allocated by Congress this year.

The White House admitted the scale of its arms shipments to Israel in a closed-door briefing to reporters, without any video or transcript being made publicly available.

Washington Post Journalist John Hudson described the contents of the briefing on , a massive transfer of equipment and firepower despite recurring disagreements between the two. nations facing civilian casualties and access to aid.

The U.S. official said, “This is a massive undertaking, and nothing is on hold other than this delivery” of 2,000-pound bombs.

As mass protests continue over the Biden administration's complicity in the Gaza bloodbath, the White House has sought to keep the scale of its arms transfers secret. For this reason, he divided his arms shipments into more than 100 pieces in order to circumvent Congressional reporting requirements.

The announcement came the same day that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with senior White House officials.

Gallant was greeted by senior White House officials on Wednesday, after the lead prosecutor of the International Criminal Court filed a complaint against him last month, accusing Israel's defense minister, alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity”. »

The visit follows last week's assertion by a UN commission of inquiry that the Israeli government is responsible for the “extermination” of the Palestinian population, with commission member Chris Sidoti saying that ” The Israeli army is one of the most criminal armies in the world.”

Gallant's trip sets the stage for Netanyahu's visit to Washington on July 24, where he is scheduled to address both houses of Congress.

In a report of the meeting between Gallant and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the White House wrote: “Mr. Gallant. Sullivan reaffirmed the United States' unwavering commitment to Israel's security, including in the face of threats from Iranian-backed terrorist groups, such as Lebanese Hezbollah.

The statement continued: “The two also discussed President Biden’s unprecedented support for Israel since the October 7 Hamas attacks. Mr. Sullivan reaffirmed President Biden's commitment to ensuring that Israel has everything it needs to defend itself militarily and confront its Iranian-backed adversaries. »

The White House has praised the supposed humanitarian efforts of Gallant, the man who pushed the population of this narrow enclave to the brink of starvation by declaring a “complete blockade” of food on Gaza because Palestinians are, in his words, “human animals.”

The reading stated:

Mr. Sullivan and Minister Gallant discussed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the need to increase and maintain the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Mr. Sullivan recognized Minister Gallant's personal efforts and leadership in supporting these efforts.

In another meeting with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, he “underscored the United States' unwavering commitment to Israel, as evidenced in part by Israel's extraordinary defense against an Iranian attack.” unprecedented on April 13 and aid of more than 14 billion dollars. in the bipartisan national security supplement that President Biden signed on April 24.

Gallant, for his part, responded to the meetings by threatening war against Lebanon, declaring that Israel is “preparing for all scenarios” and threatening to send Lebanon “back to the Stone Age.”

Israeli massacres of civilians in Gaza continued on Wednesday, with 15 Palestinian civilians killed in a strike on a house in northern Gaza.

Israeli forces killed Fadi Al-Wadiya, a doctor and member of Doctors Without Borders, on his way to work in Gaza City.

MSF reported:

The attack killed Fadi, along with five others, including three children, as he cycled to work near the MSF clinic where he provided care.

Fadi was a 33-year-old physiotherapist and father of three children. He joined MSF in 2018. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones. Fadi's loss marks the sixth killing of an MSF staff member in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Meanwhile, famine worsens in Gaza. In a statement on Twitter, the United Nations Children's Fund wrote: “Malnutrition in Gaza is taking a toll on children” and “the lack of food, water and medical supplies is worsening the already desperate situation of those children of Gaza.

Mass starvation and hunger in Gaza were massively intensified by the closure of the Rafah border crossing, part of the US-backed Israeli attack on Rafah. In a statement Wednesday, the World Health Organization said no medical evacuations had taken place from Gaza since May.

Before the border closure, “about 50 critically ill patients were leaving Gaza every day. … This means that since May 7, at least 2,000 people have been unable to leave Gaza to receive medical care,” said Rik Peeperkorn, a representative of the World Health Organization.

Separately, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that at least 508 displaced people were killed in its shelters in October.