Pentagon Quietly Ramps Up Ammo for Israel

With the Palestinian death toll in Gaza reportedly reaching over 11,000, including 4,630 children, the US has been facing pressure over its support for the Israeli campaign. However, the Biden administration has rejected calls for a ceasefire, even as hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters have taken to the streets across the country.

As Israel continues its operation to eliminate Hamas in the Gaza Strip whatever the costs, the Pentagon has reportedly been tacitly boosting military aid to its biggest non-NATO ally.

Despite publicly voicing concern over the surging civilian death toll in Gaza, Washington is maintaining a "weapons pipeline" to cater to Israel’s military aid requests, reported Bloomberg.

Thus, Israel has asked for over 57,000 155 mm high explosive artillery shells, 20,000 M4A1 rifles, 5,000 PVS-14 night vision devices, 3,000 M141 hand-held bunker-buster munitions, 400 120 mm mortars, and 75 army vehicles, specifically, the Army and Marine Corps’ new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Israel has also ostensibly requested 200 armor-piercing Switchblade 600 dive-bombing drones made by AeroVironment Inc., which the US Army does not have in its inventory.

All of this is contained in an internal Defense Department list seen by the outlet. The catalogue of weapons shipped to Israel is reportedly contained in a Pentagon document, “Israel Senior Leader,” dated late October. Some of the weapons are already being delivered, while others are in the process of being provided by the US Defense Department from both American and Europe-based stockpiles, it was added.

The report underscored that the US is ready to acquiesce to Israel’s weapons demands far beyond the provision of Iron Dome interceptors and precision munitions manufactured by Boeing Co. that was publicly announced earlier. Two Iron Dome batteries are currently en route to Israel by sealift.

One tally purportedly revealed that 36,000 rounds of 30 mm cannon ammunition, 1,800 M141 bunker-buster munitions, and close to 3,500 night-vision devices had already been delivered to Israel by late October. Another tally is described as including around 2,000 Hellfire laser-guided missiles produced by Lockheed Martin Corp. These are intended for AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships. Another 36,000 rounds of 30 mm ammunition to be fired by the Apache’s cannon are also on the cited weapons list. A further 312 Tamir missile interceptors have also been donated to Israel by the US.

When asked to comment on the report, a Pentagon spokesman said that it was “leveraging several avenues – from internal stocks to US industry channels – to ensure Israel has the means to defend itself.”

The spokesperson added that Israel was being provided by the US with 155 mm artillery shells, small-diameter bombs, precision-guided munitions, along with "Iron Dome interceptors and medical support equipment."

Since the start of Israel’s campaign to target Hamas in retaliation for the militant group’s attack on October 7, Washington has staunchly supported Tel Aviv. The Biden administration did make a feeble attempt at shuttle diplomacy, but had nothing to show for it. As the Israel Defense Forces intensified their Gaza operation to eliminate Hamas, global protests have surged over the spiraling Palestinian civilian death toll. Over 11,000 people, many of them children, have already died in the enclave, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.

However, Washington has rejected calls for a ceasefire in hostilities even as hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters have taken to the streets across the US. Instead, the Biden administration urged for a “humanitarian pause” in Israel’s assault.

The Biden administration has faced censure from non-governmental organizations for its provision of artillery shells, along with other munitions, to Israel. Over 30 such organizations wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday to call on him to refrain from sending the 155 mm shells, saying:

“In Gaza, one of the world’s most densely populated places, 155 mm artillery shells are inherently indiscriminate… These munitions are unguided and have a high error radius.”

More than 500 former Biden campaign staffers also urged US President Joe Biden to press for a ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip. In their letter published online and signed by former employees of Biden’s 2020 campaign, as well as the Democratic National Committee and state-level Democratic Party organizations, they pointed out, “We were and continue to be horrified by the devastating Hamas attack against Israeli civilians on October 7.” The group of staffers, calling themselves Biden Alumni for Peace and Justice, wrote:

“You must call for a ceasefire, hostage exchange, and de-escalation, and take concrete steps to address the conditions of occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing at the root of the horrific violence we are witnessing now.”