US Senator Demands Transparency in $147.5 Million Secret Weapons Deal With Israel

On Saturday, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of the state of Virginia criticized the recent decision by the US State Department to approve a deal to sell artillery shells and related equipment to Israel for $147.5 million.

Kaine demanded a "public explanation" of why the Biden administration decided to supply weapons to Israel without congressional review.

"The US Congress should have full information about the weapons we are providing to another country. Bypassing Congress unnecessarily means keeping the American people in the dark," a statement on the senator's website read.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, part of the Pentagon, announced on Friday that the US State Department had approved the sale of M107 artillery shells for 155 mm howitzers and related equipment to Israel for approximately $147.5 million.

US Secretary of state Antony Blinken claimed Israel was in an extraordinary situation, insisting that the supply of munitions was needed "immediately" — and was in US national interests.

Israel was taken by surprise on October 7 when the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement launched its Operation of Al-Aqsa Flood. After launching a barrage of rockets, militants and infiltrating southern Israel, opened fire on both military and civilian targets and took over 200 hostages. Following a downward revision of Israeli government figures, around 1,200 people were killed in Israel, including civilians, soldiers, foreign citizens and workers, with 5,000 others injured.

In response, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation "Swords of Iron" against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. After several days fighting to regain control of settlements around Gaza, the IDF began a bombing campaign in the strip, including against civilian targets. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, cutting off supplies of water, food, electricity, medicine and fuel.

At the end of October, the ground phase of the Israeli operation in the enclave began. The city of Gaza was surrounded by Israeli ground forces, effectively dividing the enclave into southern and northern zones.

According to the Palestinian enclave's Health Ministry, the death toll in Gaza since October 7 has exceeded 21,000, with more than 55,000 injured.

Hamas has claimed that it held some 200 to 250 captives in Gaza. Following a brief ceasefire and exchange of prisoners, Israeli authorities said that 126 Israelis and 11 foreigners remained hostages of Hamas and that 110 of them had been released.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has called on both sides to cease hostilities. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the solution of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of the "two-state" formula approved by the United Nations Security Council, which envisages the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.

The Palestine-Israel conflict, linked to territorial interests, has been a source of tension and conflict in the region for decades. The 1947 UN resolution, with the active role of the USSR, defined the establishment of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli state was established.