WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department has moved a $1 billion package of weapons aid for Israel into the congressional review process, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
The latest weapons package includes tank rounds, mortars and armored tactical vehicles, one of the officials told Reuters.
The chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations and the House Foreign Affairs committees review major foreign weapons deals.
President Joe Biden said last week he had delayed a shipment of 2,000-pound (907-kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs to Israel over concerns they might be used for a major invasion of Rafah, a town in southern Gaza.
Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to invade Rafah without safeguards for civilians, seven months into a war that has devastated Gaza.
Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas has emerged as a political liability for the president, particularly among young Democrats, as he runs for re-election this year.
(Reporting by Mike Stone and Steve Holland; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Costas Pitas)
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