Washington: The United States allowed Israel to tap a local US arms stockpile in the past week to resupply it with grenades and mortar rounds even as the Zionist state is busy bombing and killing innocent civilians, including women and children, in Gaza.
[Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby briefs reporters in the Pentagon Press Briefing Room. (File Photo: Glenn Fawcett)]
"The munitions were located inside Israel as part of a programme managed by the US military and called War Reserves Stock Allies-Israel (WRSA-I), which stores munitions locally for US use that Israel can also access in emergency situations", Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon's press secretary, said in a statement.
Washington allowed Israel to access the strategic stockpile to resupply itself with 40mm grenades and 120mm mortar rounds to deplete older stocks that would eventually need to be refreshed.
Kirby said: "Both munitions had been in WRSA-I stock for a few years, well before the current crisis.
"All stocks in WRSA-I, as required by law, are 'in excess to US requirements.'
"Issuing munitions from the WRSA-I stockpile was strictly a sourcing decision and White House approval was not required.
"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability.
Additional Israeli requests for US-manufactured ammunition were also being processed in the US, the anonymous defence official said.
Israel's embassy in Washington declined comment about the resupply request, including whether it asked for the ammunition because of its operations in Gaza, the Reuters news agency reported.
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