Biden administration presses Congress to approve tank shells for Israel's war in Gaza

The Biden administration has asked Congress to approve the sale of 45,000 shells for Israel's Merkava tanks for use in its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, according to four sources familiar with the matter, including a US official and a former US official, Report informs via Reuters.

The request is being made even as concerns grow about the use of US weapons in a war that has killed thousands of civilians in the Palestinian enclave since Israel responded to an attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas militants.

The potential sale, worth more than $500 million, is not part of President Joe Biden's $110.5 billion supplemental request that includes funding for Ukraine and Israel. It is under informal review by the Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, which allows members the privilege to stall the sale, or have informal discussions with the administration about concerns.

The US State Department is pushing the congressional committees to quickly approve the transaction, said a US official and Josh Paul, a former State Department official, amid objections from rights advocates over the use of US-made weapons in the conflict.

"This went to committees earlier this week and they are supposed to have 20 days to review Israel cases. State (Department) is pushing them to clear now," said Paul, who in October resigned from the State Department in protest over what he called the administration's "blind support" for Israel.

The administration is also weighing using Arms Export Control Act emergency authorities to allow a portion of the ammunition, 13,000 of the 45,000 shells, to bypass the committee and review period, two US officials said, although a final decision was yet to be made. The move would allow Israel to prepare for contingencies given the high tensions in the region, one of the US officials said.

A State Department spokesperson said as a matter of policy, "we do not confirm or comment on proposed defense transfers or sales until they have been formally notified to Congress."

Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat on the chamber's foreign relations committee, said congressional view was a critical step for large weapons sales.

"The administration should not consider short-circuiting the already short time frame for congressional review of this or any other arms transfer," he said.

Online images of the war show that Israel regularly deploys Merkava tanks in its Gaza offensive and on its southern border with Lebanon, where skirmishes have erupted since Oct. 7.