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On May 17, US President Joe Biden had approved the $ 735 million sale of high-precision weapons to Israel, The Washington Post reported.
According to the sources of The Washington Post, Congress received the notification on May 5, a few days before the military escalation. U.S. lawmakers reportedly have 20 days to submit an objection to the deal.
Previously, the US reportedly hampered the UN Security Council emergency meeting on the escalating situation in the West Bank between Israel and Gaza, claiming that the Biden administration is working “behind the scenes” to end the violence in Israel and Palestine.
It seems that the multi-million deal is the price that Netanyahu should pay for Washington’s efforts to prevent any international interference into the conflict.
Meanwhile, the hostilities continue on both sides of the Gaza fence. According to the latest data, at least 10 people were killed on the Israeli side, hundreds were injured. The Palestinian side reports more than 200 dead and almost 6,000 injured during the current escalation of the conflict with Israel.
On May 17, at least 8 people were injured as a result of a rocket strike on Israeli town of Ashdod.
While rockets shell Israeli territories, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) use drones, aviation and artillery to strike targets in Gaza.
🇮🇱🇵🇸 IDF artillery work in the direction of gaza.#Gaza/#Israel pic.twitter.com/FCfbd3640v
— 🆁🅰🅶🅴🆇 (@theragex) May 17, 2021
On May 17, the IDF claimed that Israeli warship and unmanned aerial vehicle had stroke Hamas submarine off Gaza Strip.
The Al-Quds Brigades, confirm and mourn the death of Husam Abu Harbid, the commander of the Northern Brigade at Saraya al-Quds, who was killed this morning “during the raid”.
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Moreover, Israeli military planes targeted the main operative center of the Internal Security Force of the Hamas movement in the north of the Gaza Strip.
“Fighter-planes attacked the main operative headquarters of the Hamas Internal Security Force in Er-Rimal neighborhood in the north of the Gaza Strip. The headquarters was the central component of the Hamas terrorist infrastructure and served as a basis for military intelligence officers,” the Israeli army’s news release reads.
Among other targets there were:
- the house of Izz ad-Din Haddad (member of the Hamas General Staff);
- Amjad Abu Naji (commander of the Nukhba battalion);
- Ibrahim Muhammad Mustafa (commander of the Southern Khan Yunis battalion);
- Ahmad Shamali (commander of the Nohava battalion);
- the house of Nissima Abu Ajuna (commander of the Beit Lahia battalion).
