The United States is proposing to ship $320 million worth of precision-guided bomb weapons to Israel amid its aerial bombing of Gaza as part of its assault on militant group Hamas.
Several months before Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and sparked a war, the relevant US congressional committees reportedly approved the sale of Spice Family Gliding Bomb Assemblies to Israel—a type of precision bomb equipment that can turn unguided bombs into GPS-guided munitions.
Congressional leaders were not informed by the State Department that the transfer was proceeding until October 31, according to three individuals familiar with the situation.
Precision Bomb Kit Transfer
Rafael USA, a defense contractor, has informed the House Speaker, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that they will be transferring "defense articles, technical data, and defense services to support procurement, inspection, assembly, testing, and shipment of SPICE Family Gliding Bomb Assemblies for end-use by the Ministry of Defense for Israel," as per the written notice seen by CNN.
The acronym SPICE refers to Smart, Precise Impact, and Cost Effective.
Rafael USA, the American arm of one of Israel's leading armaments manufacturers, produces the weaponry. The kits' guidance systems are similar to the Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) of the US. JDAMs refer to a kind of bomb that may be converted from an unguided "dumb" bomb into a guided smart bomb by use of a fin and steering kit. A senior military official said in late October that the US had begun speeding up the supply of JDAMs to Israel immediately after the conflict started.
See Also : UN Chief Warns Gaza Becoming 'Graveyard for Children' as Israel-Hamas War Death Toll Tops 10,000
Calls for Ceasefire
The transfer coincides with international calls for an end to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, where civilian casualties have risen to an all-time high.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said on Monday, November 6, that thousands of innocent people had been murdered in Gaza. He added that the US had seen some indications in some scenarios that Israel was attempting to reduce civilian casualties.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other high-ranking American officials have pressed Israel to accept humanitarian ceasefires that would enable assistance to people in Gaza. However, the US has stopped asking for a ceasefire, claiming that doing so would only benefit Hamas.
Moreover, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly rejected a pause or truce, claiming that the war must continue until Hamas frees the more than 200 captives it is believed to be holding within Gaza.
In an interview with ABC News on Monday, Netanyahu stated his continued opposition to a ceasefire without the release of captives but his willingness to consider "tactical little pauses."
