US approves $20 billion of weapons sales to Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the state memorial for Ze'ev Jabotinsky, at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on August 4. Credit: AP/PA

The United States has approved $20 billion-worth (£15.5 billion) of arms sales to Israel amid the threat of a wider war across the Middle East.

The package includes more than 50 F-15 fighter jets, advanced medium range air-to-air missiles, tank ammunition and tactical vehicles, the State Department said on Tuesday.

The weapons are not expected to reach Israel imminently, but rather should bolster Israel's military capacity in the longer term as the contracts will take years to fulfill.

“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives,” the State Department wrote in a statement about the sale.

President Joe Biden's administration has had to balance continued support for Israel with growing calls from lawmakers the the US public to curb military support because of the high number of civilian deaths in Gaza.

Meanwhile British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer made a direct phone call to the president of Iran on Monday, urging him not to launch an attack on Israel as Western leaders step up efforts to avoid further escalation.

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The White House is warning that an assault on Israel by Iran or its proxies could come as soon as this week.

Mediators have spent months trying to get the sides to agree to a three-phase plan in which Hamas would release the remaining hostages captured in its October 7 attack in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, and Israel would withdraw from Gaza.

After more than 10 months of fighting, the number of Palestinians who have been killed is nearing 40,000 in Gaza, according to the local Health Ministry.

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