The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would provide Israel with $14.3 billion in military assistance amid its ongoing invasion of the Gaza Strip, but the legislation faces an uncertain future in the Senate and a veto threat from President Joe Biden.
The Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, which was approved by a vote of 226-196, mostly along party lines, would fund the replenishment of Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling air and missile defense systems, as well as the development of the Iron Beam laser air defense system. It would also replace arms previously supplied to Israel by the US.
The bill is a standalone version of a larger supplemental spending package that Biden requested from Congress in late October, which included over $105 billion in total funding for various policy priorities, such as $61 billion for Ukraine, $9 billion for humanitarian assistance projects, including in Gaza, and additional funding for border security.
However, the Senate is expected to reject the House bill and instead consider Biden’s wider spending pack, which has the support of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Biden has also threatened to veto the House bill because it excludes most of his requested funding and cuts funding for the Internal Revenue Service, the US tax authority.
The House bill has also faced criticism from some Democrats and human rights groups who argue that providing more military aid to Israel would enable its continued aggression and occupation of Palestinian territories. The US already provides Israel with about $3.8 billion in military aid annually – the most of any nation worldwide.
The House bill comes as Israel continues its invasion of the Gaza Strip, which began on Nov. 1 after a series of rocket attacks from Hamas, the militant group that controls the enclave. The invasion has killed over 200 Palestinians and injured more than 1,000, according to Gaza health officials. Israel says it has killed dozens of Hamas fighters and destroyed hundreds of rocket launchers and tunnels.
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