Popular Articles
Today Week Month Year


Israel pressures US for more Apache helicopters even while owning up to mass civilian casualty airstrikes
By News Editors // Dec 29, 2023

Already the bulk of Israel's military arsenal is courtesy of the US and the American taxpayer, following decades of foreign and defense aidand Israel is far and away the top recipient over the many yearsas well as weapons and ammo urgently rushed to Tel Aviv in the wake of the Oct.7 Hamas terror attacks.

(Article by Tyler Durden republished from ZeroHedge.com)

But Israeli officials have been urging their American counterparts to send additional AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, which some Israeli media reports say has already been denied. Apaches have been heavily relied on for air power and to disrupt Hamas ground operations throughout the conflict, equipped with heavy chain guns and Hellfire missiles.

Via Axios

Israel's defense minister has formally made the request, but as YNet reports: "The IDF has requested Apache attack helicopters from the United States but has been denied so far."

"The request was made to the Pentagon in recent weeks and was also raised by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during his meetings with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during his visit to Israel last week," the report says, adding: "Security sources suggest that a final decision on the potential acquisition has not been made, and Jerusalem is continuing to apply pressure."

Israel's current two squadrons of the Boeing-made Apaches have seen heavy use as YNet explains: "These squadrons have been conducting round-the-clock operations in Gaza since the beginning of the war." Israel's total number of Apaches in its arsenal are typically listed at 48.

While the White House has long said its defense aid to Israel will remain 'unconditional' - international pressure has mounted due to the unprecedented civilian death toll. Gaza's health ministry has cited a death toll of more than 21,000 killed over the past nearly three months of conflict.

Israel's military has of late even admitted to conducting mass casualty strikes against civilian camps, killing "dozens" of innocents, as The New York Times documented in a Thursday report:

The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had caused “unintended harm” to “uninvolved civilians” in two strikes this week on a densely packed Gaza Strip neighborhood, where, the local health authorities said, dozens were killed.

It was a rare admission of fault by the military over its conduct of the war. The military said it was targeting Hamas on Sunday when it launched two strikes on the central Gazan community of Al Maghazi, which has been flooded with Palestinians uprooted by war and crammed into homes by the dozen.

An IDF statement said, "A preliminary investigation revealed that additional buildings located near the targets were also hit during the strikes, which likely caused unintended harm to additional uninvolved civilians." It added, "The I.D.F. regrets the harm to uninvolved individuals, and is working to draw lessons from the incident."

AFP via Getty Images

One of Israel's arguments to Washington in pressing for more Apaches is that the sophisticated attack helicopters may allow for more precision operations against ground targets, given they go after targets in closer proximity compared to either mortar fire or missiles launched by fast-moving jets.

Read more at: ZeroHedge.com



Related News
Take Action:
Support NewsTarget by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NewsTarget.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.

NewsTarget.com © 2022 All Rights Reserved. All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. NewsTarget.com is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. NewsTarget.com assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published on this site. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
News Target uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.