US advances $680 million arms sale to Israel after signing of Lebanon ceasefire

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is advancing a $680 million arms sale to Israel following the signing of the ceasefire in Lebanon the Financial Times reported Wednesday. 

The Times said that administration officials recently briefed Congress on the planned sales of weapons, primarily precision weapons depleted during the 14-month-long conflict. 

The weapons sales, which are in addition to the recently approved almost $20 billion in weapons sales approved by Congress last week. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Tuesday that the need to resupply was one of Israel’s primary motivations in agreeing to the ceasefire. 

“It is no secret that there have been big delays in weapons and munitions deliveries,” Netanyahu said. “These delays will be resolved soon. We will receive supplies of advanced weaponry that will keep our soldiers safe and give us more strike force to complete our mission.” 

Despite the fact the U.S. has held up a couple weapons shipments during the Gaza War, over concerns that they would be used in operations with civilian casualties, the Biden administration has denied that there is a direct link between the ceasefire and the advancing of the weapons sales. 

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 13 News, special envoy Amos Hochstein denied that the U.S. imposed demands on Israel related to the weapons sales. 

Channel 13’s U.S. correspondent Neriah Krauss asked Hochstein, “Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed that one of the reasons that Israel is doing the deal is because it needs weapons that their shipments were delayed by the US administration. Is that true that Israel had to cave into that deal in order to get weapons?” 

“I don't believe the Israeli government caved into any deal,” Hochstein responded, saying, “This deal is a good deal for Israel.” 

“I have known Prime Minister Netanyahu and the government of Israel for a very long time,” he continued. “I have never known them to cave into deals that they thought threatened the security of Israel.” 

“There were no demands by the United States related to weapons or any other sort,” Hochstein claimed. “There were no threats whatsoever. Those are just rumors and inaccurate ones.” 

When further pressed over claims by Netanyahu’s office that the U.S. had threatened Israel with an arms embargo or withholding votes in Israel’s favor in the UN, Hochstein responded, “This topic has never come up in our conversations.” 

Republican Senator Ted Cruz issued a statement on his office website Tuesday, saying, “I am deeply disturbed both by reports that Obama-Biden officials exerted enormous pressure on our Israeli allies to accept this ceasefire and by how those officials are characterizing Israel's obligations.” 

“Obama-Biden officials pressured our Israeli allies into accepting the ceasefire by withholding weapons they needed to defend themselves and counter Hezbollah, and by threatening to facilitate a further, broader, binding international arms embargo through the United Nations,” Cruz claimed.

“[They] are already trying to use Israel's acceptance of this ceasefire to ensure that Hezbollah and other Iranian terrorist groups remain intact across Lebanon, and to limit Israel's future freedom of action and self-defense. Administration officials, including Secretary of State Blinken, today even downplayed Israel's right under the ceasefire to strike terrorist groups in Lebanon when those groups pose imminent threats.”

In his speech to the nation about the ceasefire deal, Netanyahu assured the Israeli public that the ceasefire allowed Israel “full freedom of military action” in response to any Hezbollah threats.