US State Department asks Congress to approve sales of tank munitions to Israel

The US State Department has asked Congress to approve a sale of tens of thousands of munitions for Israeli tanks, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told CNN.

The request, which the source said was received within the last week and is being reviewed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is for 45,000 shells for Israeli Merkava tanks, the source said. The source added that the committees are under “pressure” from the State Department to approve the request quickly amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

The request comes as the US is under growing domestic and international pressure to support a ceasefire in Gaza, and place conditions on some of the weapons it is providing to Israel.

“As a matter of policy, we do not confirm or comment on proposed defense transfers or sales until they have been formally notified to Congress,” a State Department spokesperson told CNN when asked about the request.

Reuters first reported the request.

In early November, the State Department formally notified congressional leaders that it would be transferring $320 million worth of precision-guided bomb equipment to Israel, CNN previously reported.

Israel has received 200 cargo planes of military equipment from “several countries” since the Hamas terror attack on October 7, including ammunition, armored vehicles, and weapons, according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

The Israeli ministry said more than 10,000 tons of military equipment have been delivered since the start of the war.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense said the aid had come from “several countries,” but declined to say what other countries had sent aid or how much of it had come from the United States.

The shipments of US military aid began soon after the war began. Defense Secretary…