After months of resistance, two key Democratic lawmakers relented to intense pressure from the Biden administration and approved a major $18 billion arms package for Israel - including 50 advanced F-15 fighter jets and precision air-to-ground munitions.
As reported by The Washington Post, Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had publicly vowed in April to stall the arms deal unless he received assurances from Biden officials about how the weaponry would be used and efforts to allow more humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.
"I don't want the kinds of weapons that Israel has to be utilized to have more deaths," Meeks told CNN at the time. "I want to make sure that humanitarian aid gets in. I don't want people starving to death, and I want Hamas to release the hostages."
However, facing intense lobbying efforts from the administration and pro-Israel advocates, the two lawmakers eventually caved to the pressure and signed off on the sale several weeks ago, according to U.S. officials speaking anonymously.
Their approval effectively greenlights one of the largest arms transfers to Israel since the eight-month Gaza war erupted last October.
While the advanced F-15s are not scheduled for delivery for years, the deal also covers air-to-air missiles and JDAM guidance kits that retrofit unguided bombs - munitions that could be used immediately in Gaza operations.
Progressive critics have blasted Biden for not leveraging U.S. military aid more forcefully to push Israel to limit civilian casualties and expedite humanitarian access to the battered territory. But the administration maintains that Israel has a right to defend itself.
The State Department is expected to officially notify Congress of the package in coming days, with the export of up to $3.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel helping underwrite the purchase.
