Biden administration considers more than $680 million in arms sales to Israel: report

The Biden administration is pushing ahead with a $680 million arms sales package to Israel, a US official familiar with the plan said on Wednesday, news agency Reuters reported.
The development comes a day after a US-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
The package, first reported by the Financial Times, includes thousands Combined Direct Attack Ammunition Kits (JDAM) and hundreds of small-diameter bombs, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, Biden’s national security adviser Jack Sullivan said the US president would launch a new campaign on Wednesday for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
A cease-fire in the south Lebanon war that began early Wednesday means Iran-backed Hezbollah is no longer fighting in unity with Hamas in Gaza. Jack Sullivan told MSNBC that he would increase pressure on the militant Palestinian group to agree to a cease-fire and hostage deal.
In August, the Biden administration approved a more than $20 billion package for new arms sales to Israel, rejecting pressure from rights activists to freeze arms deliveries because of the death toll in Gaza.
It will take years to complete the delivery of weapons. In a notification to Congress, the State Department announced the approval of the sale of 50 F-15 fighter jets to Israel for $18.82 billion.
Along with the jets, Israel will buy about 33,000 tank cartridges, up to 50,000 high-explosive mortar cartridges and new military cargo vehicles. The F-15 jets, equipped with advanced radars and secure communications gear, will significantly upgrade Israel’s existing fleet when they begin arriving in 2029.