US Approves Potential $992.4 Million Weapons Sale to Israel

WASHINGTON — The United States State Department has approved a potential foreign military sale of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) and related equipment to Israel for an estimated $992.4 million, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced, marking the latest in a series of major American arms transfers to its closest Middle Eastern ally amid the ongoing devastation in Gaza.

The proposed sale, formally notified to the US Congress, includes thousands of APKWS guidance kits that convert unguided 2.75-inch Hydra-70 rockets into laser-guided precision munitions. The package also covers warheads, fuses, containers, support equipment, spare parts, technical documentation, training, and US government and contractor logistical support. BAE Systems, headquartered in Nashua, New Hampshire, will serve as the principal contractor.

The State Department said the sale serves US national security interests by helping Israel maintain what Washington describes as its qualitative military edge in the region. The agency said the weapons would bolster Israel's homeland defense and counter what it called ongoing and future regional threats. Congress now has a 30-day window to block the transfer, though such reviews have rarely halted shipments to Israel.

The announcement comes as international pressure mounts over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, according to local health authorities. Human rights organisations and several United Nations bodies have repeatedly warned that American-supplied munitions are being used in strikes that have flattened residential neighbourhoods, hospitals, and displacement camps across the besieged enclave.

For Qatar, which has played a central mediating role between Israel and Hamas alongside Egypt and the United States, the latest sale underscores the structural imbalance Doha and other Gulf capitals have repeatedly flagged. Qatari officials have argued that uninterrupted weapons flows to Israel undermine ceasefire diplomacy and prolong civilian suffering, complicating efforts to secure a durable truce and the release of remaining captives.

The APKWS system, developed originally for the US military, has become a workhorse precision weapon used by helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and unmanned platforms. Its lower cost compared with Hellfire missiles makes it attractive for sustained operations, a factor analysts say is significant given the intensity of Israeli air operations over the past two years.

Gulf states, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, have intensified diplomatic engagement with Washington in recent months, pushing for a comprehensive ceasefire framework, expanded humanitarian access, and a credible political horizon toward a Palestinian state. The arms sale, however, signals that the Biden-era pattern of unconditional military support continues largely unchanged under the current administration.