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US plans $8 billion weapons sale to Israel: Report

This package could mark the final arms sale to Israel under President Joe Biden's administration

The US State Department on Friday informed Congress of its plan to approve $8 billion worth of arms sales to Israel, according to the department's office presiding weapons transfers, the New York Times reported.

The proposed sale includes bombs, artillery shells, missiles for fighter jets and helicopters, and GPS guidance systems for bombs, as per a notification sent to two congressional committees. Some weapons systems are expected to enter production pipelines, with deliveries taking up to two years.

However, certain munitions, including 2,800 MK-82 bombs--500-pound unguided weapons--could be delivered as early as this year if Congress and the State Department provide final approval, a US official said on Saturday.

About $6 billion of the $8 billion package is made up of four cases, or sets of sales, and those are mainly bombs and GPS guidance systems for unguided bombs, said the official, on the condition of anonymity, the New York Times reported.

Notably, this package could mark the final arms sale to Israel under President Joe Biden's administration.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces killed at least 70 Palestinians in 30 separate attacks across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, medics and rescue workers say, with the victims including many children, Al Jazeera reported.

Also, Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz indirectly said that talks with concerned parties are in progress for the return of captives held in Gaza.

Katz's remarks came while speaking with parents of Liri Elbag, whose video was released by Hamas.

In a rough translation of a post on X on Saturday, Katz wrote, "I spoke this evening with Shira and Eli, the parents of Liri Elbag, who was kidnapped by the terrorist organisation Hamas."

Katz added: "I told them how important and meaningful the exciting sign of life received from Liri was, along with her impressive resilience and mental strength under impossible conditions. I would like to offer my condolences and hugs to the family. I told them that it is important that they know that all parties are working in every possible way to bring Liri home as soon as possible, along with all the abductees."

Notably, in the latest video released by the military wing of Hamas, 19-year-old Elbag references the New Year, but there is no definitive proof that the video was shot within the last few days. Elbag was taken hostage along with other field observers from the Nachal Oz military base near Gaza during the militant group's October 7, 2023, cross-border attacks, CNN reported.

Earlier on Friday, Israel sent a delegation to Qatar's capital Doha to resume negotiations regarding a hostage agreement in the Gaza Strip.

The delegation included officials from Mossad, the country's intelligence agency; Shin Bet or the Israeli Security Agency, the intelligence, technological, and operational organisation of Israel; and Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), Times of Israel reported.

On Thursday, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office had announced that the Prime Minister had approved the delegation's visit to Qatar to discuss a potential hostage-ceasefire arrangement.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas, the largest militant group in Palestine had carried out a massive terror attack on Israel. Over 1,200 people including foreign nationals were killed by Hamas, women were raped and over 250 hostages were abducted. Out of them, only around 100 are said to be alive, the rest are believed to be killed in captivity, and some were returned to Israel during a partial ceasefire in December 2023.