On Thursday, the US State Department approved a potential arms deal for Israel for tank trailers that’s worth about $165 million in the latest US show of support for the Israeli military amid the genocidal war in Gaza.
“The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Israel of Heavy Duty Tank Trailers and related equipment for an estimated cost of $164.6 million,” the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said.
The approval is the first step in the arms deal and begins a period when Congress could block the sale, but it won’t face any roadblocks since there’s a strong bipartisan consensus for arming Israel. The DSCA said the deliveries of the trailers are expected to begin in 2027.
The sale will likely be paid for using Foreign Military Financing (FMF), a form of US military aid that provides funds to foreign governments to purchase US arms. Israel is the only country that’s also allowed to use a portion of its FMF aid to purchase domestically manufactured weapons.
Israel receives $3.8 billion in military aid from the US each year, which includes $3.3 billion in FMF. In April, President Biden signed a bill into law authorizing another $17 billion in military aid for Israel. In August, the State Department approved a series of weapons deals for Israel worth $20 billion, including an $18.8 billion deal for a new fleet of F-15 fighter jets.
US military aid is required for Israel to sustain its operations in Gaza, which kills dozens of Palestinians every day, and it supports escalations in the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria.