Israel Is Getting Precision Weapons from America to Fight Hamas
The White House is following through on its promises to support Israel’s war against Hamas. This week, the Biden administration is preparing to deliver precision weapons to the Jewish state. This $320 million weapons transfer would allow weapons manufacturer Rafael USA to transfer SPICE Family Gliding Bomb Assemblies to its Israeli parent company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for use by Israel’s Defense Forces. As part of the deal, support, assembling, testing and other military technology will be included.
This recent report comes after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to advance a $14.5 billion military aid package to the Jewish state.
Which Precision Weapons Are Included?
SPICE is an acronym for Smart, Precision Impact, and Cost Effective. This EO/GPS guidance kit was designed to convert air-droppable unguided bombs into precision-guided bombs. These specialized weapons use electro-optical or infrared systems to strike targets with precise accuracy and can even function in conditions where GPS guidance is not available.
According to CNN, the SPICE guidance kits being provided to Israel are similar to JDAMs: “JDAMs – joint direct attack munitions – are also fin and steering kits that turn unguided “dumb” bombs into guided “smart” bombs. The US began expediting the delivery of JDAMs to Israel shortly after the start of the war, a senior defense official said in late October, which was one of Israel’s top needs, along with interceptor missiles for its aerial defense systems.”
Israel Has Vowed to Eliminate Hamas
Following Hamas’ October 7 massacre, the Israeli government has vowed to completely obliterate every last remnant of the Gaza-based group. Over the last month, Israel’s army and air force have carried out extensive operations over the enclave.
Frequent aerial bombardments and limited ground incursions into Gaza are meant to disable Hamas’ infrastructure and ability to carry out future attacks. Some politicians have called on Israel to bend to Hamas and declare a ceasefire, however, the Israeli government is adamant that in order to survive and preserve the world’s sole Jewish nation, Hamas must be eliminated.
In a video widely shared last week, a senior Hamas leader celebrated the systematic slaughter of innocent civilians in the group’s October 7 attack, vowing that Hamas would work tirelessly to perpetuate similar assaults in the future.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry claims that thousands of Palestinian civilians have died in the ongoing war so far, which has led some American officials to urge Israel to pause its bombing campaign temporarily. Since Israel declared war against Hamas, it imposed a total siege on Gaza, cutting off supplies of fuel, water, electricity, and other resources. Israel’s strategy to prevent Hamas from stealing these resources to fuel its campaign of terrorism against it has in part culminated in the humanitarian crisis currently unfolding in Gaza.
“When it comes to humanitarian pauses, we’re engaged with the Israelis on the particular practicalities of that. One critical aspect, though, is seeing progress on hostages. That’s something we’re intensely focused on. But we also believe that a pause could help advance that proposition as well,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday.
As of this writing, Israel has agreed to shorter, four-hour pauses in fighting.
Maya Carlin is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.