UPDATE - Biden administration approves more than $20B in new military arms sales to Israel

ADDS MORE DETAILS IN COPY, CORRECTS F-15I 'FIGHTER JETS' TO 'MODERNIZATION KITS'

​​​​​​​By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Biden administration approved the sale of more than $20 billion in new military assistance for Israel on Tuesday amid its ongoing war on the devastated Gaza Strip.

Congress has been notified of the sales, which consist of multiple packages. They include jet fighters, air-to-air missiles, tank ammunition, tactical vehicles and mortar cartridges. All of the packages have been signed off on by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Specifically, they include up to 50 F-15IA warplanes, and as many as 25 F-15I fighter jet modernization kits, as well as associated equipment, 30 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and 32,739 120mm tank cartridges, M1147 High Explosive Multi-Purpose with Tracer (HEMP-T) cartridges and or 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank (MPAT) with Tracer cartridges.

About 50,000 M933A1 120mm High Explosive (HE) mortar cartridges with M783 fuses are also included, as are modified M1148A1P2 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles and related equipment.

The jets comprise the bulk of the cost, constituting $18.82 billion of the $20.34 billion package. The first jets are expected to be delivered in 2025.

"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives," the State Department said in multiple statements announcing the sales.

The announcement sets off a congressional notification period, though it is unlikely lawmakers will block the packages despite growing opposition among mostly Democrats to continued US military assistance for Israel amid a growing death toll in Gaza and what rights groups have warned is a deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank.

Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed during the course of Israel's war in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children. Vast tracts of the coastal territory have been completely leveled amid relentless Israeli bombardment that has left entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble.

Many Palestinians in Gaza continue to face acute shortage of food, water and medicine due to Israeli restrictions on the entry of humanitarian assistance, as well as the significant curtailment of movement for convoys once they enter the strip.