The package will include precision-guided munitions, artillery shells and air-to-air missiles, according to US media reports.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden’s administration has notified Congress of a planned $8 billion arms sale to Israel, according to US media reports, as the ally continues its devastating war in Gaza.
The State Department sent the House and Senate foreign affairs committees the notice on Friday, US media reported on Saturday, citing unnamed officials.
The weapons will include 500-pound (226 kg) warheads, precision-guided munitions, artillery shells, missiles for attack aircraft and helicopters, as well as bomb fuses, along with air-to-air missiles to intercept projectiles, the reports said.
Some of the production and distribution of the munitions can be done through existing US stockpiles, but the majority is expected to be handed over to Israel over a longer period, according to US media.
In August, Washington approved a separate $20 billion package that included planes, military vehicles, bombs and missiles.
In November, the Biden administration approved another $680 million arms package for Israel, including small-diameter bombs and precision guidance kits.
After the US president last year briefly halted the delivery of a single shipment of 2,000-pound (907 kg) bombs that have caused widespread destruction across Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly attacked him.
Biden has repeatedly emphasized his commitment to the US ally and its “self-defense,” despite growing criticism over the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Human rights groups have accused Israel of committing “acts of genocide” in Gaza, and Israel has been ordered by the International Court of Justice to take steps to prevent genocide from occurring in the Palestinian territory.
A UN commission of inquiry has accused Israel of pursuing a policy to destroy the health care system in Gaza, where about 90 percent of the population has been displaced.
Israel escalates attacks
Israel has intensified its attacks on Gaza in recent days, killing more than 100 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.
The Israeli military on Friday ordered the forced evacuation of staff and patients from two hospitals in northern Gaza under threat of attack, days after its forces attacked Kamal Adwan Hospital and arrested its director.
At least 11 people from the same family were killed on Saturday in the northern Gaza neighborhood of Shujayea.
“Around 2 a.m. (00:00 GMT) we woke up to the sound of a huge explosion,” said Ahmed Ayyan, a neighbor of the al-Ghoula family, adding that 14 or 15 people were staying in the house.
“Most of them were women and children, all of them were civilians. There is no one who fired rockets or is from the resistance.”
Since Israel began its war in Gaza in October 2023, at least 45,717 people have been killed and another 108,856 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
The increase in Israeli attacks in Gaza in recent days comes after the Israeli government and Hamas authorized representatives to travel to Qatar for talks on a possible cease-fire and exchange of captives and prisoners.
