Benny Gantz will meet with US officials in Washington on Thursday, a few weeks after the situation in the Gaza Strip escalated 11 days.

US Senator Lindsey Graham and Israeli officials said that Israeli Defense Secretary Benni Gantz will travel to Washington, DC on Thursday to demand $1 billion in supplies for the Iron Dome air defense system, a close ally of the United States.

Graham said that he expects the United States to approve the request quickly in 11 days. upgrade Between Israel and Hamas, Israeli officials said the Iron Dome had intercepted hundreds of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip.

“This Friday the corner building will submit a $1 billion application to the Pentagon. [Israeli] The Secretary of Defense added the iron dome and some other things to upgrade the system,” Graham told reporters during a visit to Jerusalem on Tuesday.

During the 11 days of fighting, Israeli airstrikes killed 253 Palestinians, including 66 children.

During the same period, Hamas and other armed groups from Gaza fired rockets in Israel, killing 12 people, including two children.

‘Broad and in-depth support’

This request comes at a time when the US arms sales to Israel and most of the US$3.8 billion in funding have been increasingly criticized. Unconditional assistance The United States gives it to Israel every year.

Progressive lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are currently try To prevent a $735 million arms deal with Israel, which the White House approved shortly before the start of the fighting on May 10.

Nevertheless, most American lawmakers still strongly support Israel, and efforts to contain it will almost certainly fail.

In his speech on Tuesday, Graham pointed out that he supports transcending partisan boundaries.

Republican Graham said: “The last contact between Hamas and the State of Israel in the United States caused a lot of commotion, but I am here to tell you that the Democratic Party has broad and deep support for Israel,” said.

As a senior Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Graham met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of Defense Benny Gantz during his visit to Israel. This committee is responsible for overseeing expenditures including foreign military assistance.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense stated that Gantz will meet with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and White House National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan on Thursday to discuss issues such as Iran and military assistance.

Biden had previously stated that he would replenish the iron dome, which helped Israel fend off most of the more than 4,300 rockets launched from Gaza during the conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also reiterated U.S. support for Israel during his visit to the region last week, aiming to support the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement reached on May 21.