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With a new ground offensive in Gaza imminent following the Saturday surprise attack by Hamas, Army officials said Monday they were concerned about the ability to meet additional demand for ground munitions and Congress needed to act quickly to provide help in time. Most of the weaponry sent already to help Ukraine has come from Army stocks and defense contractors at a rate that has challenged the global supply chain, and while the Army has recently ramped up production of some critical lines, such as 155 mm ammunition for howitzers, they are not yet at full speed. He said it likely will be a wide range of equipment, from small arms to sophisticated munitions. She did not provide details, but Doug Bush, the Army’s assistant secretary for acquisition, told reporters at the conference that conversations are underway about what the U.S. Wormuth, speaking at the annual Association of the United States Army conference in Washington, said the administration is still “in the early stage of the process of evaluating our ability to support what the IDF needs,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces. Also uncertain is whether the debate over further assistance to Ukraine, which is opposed by a group of hard-right Republicans, will complicate efforts to pass assistance for Israel. On Capitol Hill, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers expressed support for Israel, although immediate congressional action was virtually impossible with the House remaining without a speaker and the Senate out of Washington until next week. Referring to Israel and Ukraine, he added, “We are a large enough, big enough, economically viable and vibrant enough country to be able to support both.”

“If we need - and it’s an ‘if’, but - if we need to go back to Capitol Hill for additional funding support for Israel, we will absolutely do that,” Kirby said. But it was becoming clear that the administration is now facing potentially competing requests from Israel and Ukraine for additional weaponry. government has existing funding to support Israel for the time being. “But in particular with munitions and the ability to support Israel and Ukraine simultaneously, additional funding is needed to increase our capacity to expand production and then also pay for the munitions themselves.”Īt the White House, officials were more cautious, emphasizing that the U.S.

“The intent is to lean forward in support of Israel,” she said. to be able to give both Israel and Ukraine the weapons and munitions they both now need. has the ability to supply weapons to Ukraine and Israel and maintain security for America, the rapid delivery of munitions to the new war has raised concerns.Īrmy Secretary Christine Wormuth said Congress must pass more funding quickly for the U.S. While the Pentagon official said the U.S. officials have yet to identify a direct link from the Hamas militants who executed this weekend’s deadly attacks to Iran itself, although the country has a “degree of complicity” considering its long support for the group. military forces would be used at all, and Kirby later emphasized that “there is no intention to put U.S. The official, however, would not comment on whether U.S. is “flooding the zone” with calls and other messages so that extremist groups and other nations know they should not question America’s commitment to supporting the defense of Israel. The official briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive shipments.

is closely watching Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups, noting that the decision to shift American ships in the region was to deter any of these groups from entering or expanding the conflict against Israel. “We will stay in lockstep with them, making sure that we’re filling their needs as best we can and as fast as we can.”Īlso on Monday, a senior Defense Department official warned that the U.S. “We fully expect there will be additional requests for security assistance for Israel as they continue to expend munitions in this fight,” Kirby said.

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