By: Katelynn Richardson, Daily Caller News Foundation
The Biden administration is planning a major weapons transfer to Israel amid the president’s call for a cease-fire, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The arms delivery, which is expected to be worth tens of millions of dollars, would include around a thousand MK-82 bombs, a thousand KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions and a thousand FMU-139 bomb fuses, the WSJ reported, citing current and former U.S. officials. President Joe Biden said Friday that there “has to be a temporary cease-fire to get the hostages out.”
“I’m still hopeful that that can be done,” Biden said Friday. “In the meantime, I’m hoping that the Israelis will not make any massive land invasion.”
The deal is still being reviewed within the administration and could change before congressional committee leaders are notified, the WSJ reported.
The proposed delivery comes as Israel plans to launch an operation in Rafah, a city on the Gaza Strip, to attack Hamas militants hiding there with civilians, the WSJ reported. Biden previously said the operation should “not proceed” without a “credible and executable plan” for ensuring Palestinian civilian safety.
The Israeli government had requested “rapid acquisition of these items for the defense of Israel against continued and emerging regional threats,” according to an assessment of the proposal by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem that the WSJ reviewed.
“Israel takes effective action to prevent gross violations of human rights and to hold security forces responsible that violate those rights,” the assessment states. “In the past, Israel has been a transparent partner in U.S. investigations into allegations of defense article misuse.”
Since the war started, the U.S. has provided Israel with close to 21,000 precision-guided munitions, according to the WSJ.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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