The Washington Post reports that on the same day that Israeli airstrikes in Gaza murdered seven relief workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK), the administration of President Joe Biden approved the shipment of thousands more bombs to Israel.
The state department authorized the delivery of more than 1,000 MK82 500lb bombs, more than 1,000 small-diameter bombs, and fuses for MK80 bombs to Israel, according to numerous sources quoted in the newspaper.
CNN also reported on the transfer authority, and the Washington Post says that a state department official verified the request and stated that it took place “prior” to the Israeli aircraft striking the aid convoy.
In a statement issued the day following the incident, Biden expressed his shock and heartbreak at the murders of the relief workers, one of them was a dual citizen of the US and Canada.
Over 1,800 MK-84 2,000lb bombs and 500 MK-82 500lb bombs were among the similar weapons costing billions of dollars that the US allegedly approved last week’s shipment to Israel.
Washington provides Israel, a longstanding friend, with $3.8 billion in military aid each year.
The US government has the right to halt an arms package at any point before delivery, but the most recent transfers were made possible by authorizations approved by Congress several years before to the start of the Israel-Gaza conflict in October.
The state department official declined to comment when asked why the Biden administration did not halt the process following the Israeli drone attack on the WCK humanitarian relief convoy, as reported by the Washington Post.