by Barak Ravid at Axios
The Pentagon plans to send Israel tens of thousands of 155mm artillery shells that had been destined for Ukraine from U.S. emergency stocks several months ago, three Israeli officials with knowledge of the situation tell Axios.
Why it matters: The Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Ministry of Defense told their U.S. counterparts they urgently need artillery shells to prepare for a ground invasion in Gaza — and a potential escalation of the war by Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli officials say.
- U.S. officials have suggested that diverting the shells from Ukraine to Israel would have no immediate impact on Ukraine’s ability to fight against Russian troops.
- Less clear is whether U.S. military supplies to Ukraine could be stretched if the Israel-Hamas war becomes a broader regional conflict, but the Pentagon played down such concerns Thursday.
- “We are confident we can support both Ukraine and Israel in terms of their defensive needs,” Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters.
Zoom in: Since Hamas’ attack on Israel ignited the war on Oct. 7,…
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