The Biden administration has notified Congress of a planned $8 billion arms sale to Israel

The State Department has informally notified Congress of a planned $8 billion arms deal to support Israel’s long-term security by resupplying vital munitions stocks and air defense capabilities, a US official familiar with the details confirmed to CBS News on Saturday.

President Biden has made clear that Israel has the right to defend its citizens while the American ally moves forward Its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The US official said some of the weapons in the package could be sent through existing US stockpiles, but the majority would take upwards of one to several years to be delivered.

The deal includes medium-range air-to-air missiles to help Israel defend against airborne threats, 155mm artillery shells for long-range targeting, Hellfire AGM-114 missiles, 500-pound bombs and more.

News of the gun sale was first reported by Axios.

The weapon pack will add a Recorded at least $17.9 billion in military aid Provided by the United States to Israel since the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023 launched the war.

The Biden administration has faced criticism due to increasing deaths among Palestinian civilians. There were demonstrations on university campuses Failed efforts in Congress By Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, and some Democrats to block assault weapons sales to Israel.

US It stopped a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs Israel was notified in May due to concerns about civilian casualties if bombs were used during an attack on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. The Biden administration called on Israel to increase humanitarian aid to the Strip. But in November, due to some limited progress, it refused to limit arms transfers and threatened to do so if the situation did not improve.

In the last days, it was Israel Launching air strikes on Gaza Which resulted in dozens of deaths, in addition to tens of thousands of deaths since the war began more than a year ago.

The Israeli army announced on Friday that it had bombed dozens of Hamas gathering points and command centers throughout the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in densely populated residential areas.

The war caused widespread destruction and displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of whom were displaced several times. Winter has now arrivedHundreds of thousands live in tents near the sea.

The informal notice to Congress is not the final notice before the sale. Now leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee or the Senate Foreign Relations Committee can review the package.

Margaret Brennan

She contributed to this report.