$1.8B Arms Sale to Israel Is Approved
The Obama administration approved the sale of $1.8 billion worth of munitions to Israel, including precision guidance devices and bunker-busting bombs.
The sale announced Wednesday by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency includes 14,500 JDAMs, GPS-guided precision kits that attach to bombs.
Also included are 50 BLU-113 bunker-busting bombs, which are capable of penetrating 20 feet of concrete. President Barack Obama first authorized the sale of the bombs in 2009, when Israeli concerns about Iran’s nuclear capability began to intensify.
The package also includes 3,000 Hellfire missiles. The Obama administration suspended the sale of the missiles last summer during Israel’s operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, reportedly out of concern for the mounting civilian casualties in that war.
Obama has sought to assuage regional concerns about an emerging nuclear deal with Iran. Last week he said he would enhance U.S. defense cooperation with a number of Persian Gulf Arab states.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.