US Supplies Israel with Bombs amid Gaza Blitz
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The United States has allowed Israel, waging an offensive in the Gaza Strip, to tap a local US arms stockpile in the past week to resupply it with grenades and mortar rounds, Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon's press secretary, said.
The munitions were located inside Israel as part of a program managed by the US military and called War Reserves Stock Allies-Israel (WRSA-I), which stores munitions locally for US use that Israel can also access in emergency situations.
Israel, however, did not cite an emergency when it made its latest request about 10 days ago, a defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Washington allowed Israel to access the strategic stockpile to resupply itself with 40mm grenades and 120mm mortar rounds to deplete older stocks that would eventually need to be refreshed, Al Jazeera Reported.
In a statement, Kirby said, "Both munitions had been in WRSA-I stock for a few years, well before the current crisis.”
"All stocks in WRSA-I, as required by law, are 'in excess to US requirements.”
"Issuing munitions from the WRSA-I stockpile was strictly a sourcing decision and White House approval was not required.”
"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability.
"This defense sale is consistent with those objectives."
Additional Israeli requests for US-manufactured ammunition were also being processed in the US, the anonymous defense official said.
Israel's embassy in Washington declined comment about the resupply request, including whether it asked for the ammunition because of its operations in Gaza.
This comes as Gaza's Health Ministry has announced that the death toll from 24 days of Israeli onslaught on Palestinians has exceeded 1,360, with more than 7,000 injured.
The Israeli offensive, which began on July 8, has killed mostly civilians, according to the UN. The fighting has forced over 215,000 Gazans to flee their homes in the overcrowded coastal strip, the WHO said.
