Extract from ABC News
The United States has in recent days reportedly green-lit the transfer of billions of dollars' worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel, despite Washington publicly expressing concern about an anticipated military offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah.
Senior Pentagon and State Department officials told the Washington Post and NBC News the new arms package included thousands of powerful 2,000-pound (900 kilograms) bombs.
There have been growing international calls for bans on arms exports to Israel, with Canada, the Netherlands, and Japan among countries already taking measures to block weapons supplies.
United Nations officials and leading rights groups including Amnesty International, Save the Children and Oxfam are urging more to follow suit.
But last week, the US State Department said Israel had provided Washington with assurances it wasn't using American-supplied weapons in breach of international laws.
What's in the weapons package?
The package includes more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, the officials told the US news outlets.
Reuters news agency said "two sources familiar with the effort" confirmed the reports, but the White House has declined comment on the weapons transfers.
It is believed Israel has already used hundreds of these types of heavy bombs throughout the war in Gaza.
Due to their sheer size, they have been blamed for civilian deaths and large-scale destruction.
The unguided, so-called "dumb bombs", are said to be four times heavier than the largest bombs the US dropped during its campaign to defeat ISIS in Iraq.
Investigations by the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN, analysed satellite imagery and used AI to detect bomb craters in civilian areas from early in the conflict.
The weapons and warfare experts involved said they found hundreds of craters more than 12 metres in diameter, which are consistent with those left behind by 2,000-pound bombs.
Israeli Air Force General Omer Tischler rejected the media reports in a statement in late December, calling them "misleading".
"These are standard munitions that are regularly used by militaries worldwide," he said.
"The claim that such munitions are indiscriminate or cause uncontrollable damage is misleading.
"Even though these munitions are not GPS-guided, they are still used accurately."
The bombs are part of a weapons package that was approved for Israel years ago, but is only being fulfilled now, according to the NBC report.
The officials said there are also 25 F35A fighter jets being sent, which were initially approved as part of a larger package in 2008.
A bomb that 'turns earth into liquid'
The Mark 80 series can be fitted with guidance kits and enhanced with GPS to turn them into "smart bombs", or Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs).
The blast of a MK84 is so immense "it turns earth into liquid", Marc Garlasco, a former Pentagon defence official and a war crimes investigator for the UN told the Associated Press.
"It pancakes entire buildings," he said.
He added an explosion in the open means "instant death" for anyone within about 30m.
Lethal fragmentation can extend for up to 365m.
Amnesty International has called for a war crimes investigation into Israel's use of heavy weapons such as the MK84, claiming there were fragments of US-made JDAM bombs found in rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli air strikes.
Israel has not denied using heavy bombs.
General Tischler said they try to reduce blast fragmentation and debris by detonating them underground and on specific military targets.
Charles Blaha, former director of the US State Department's Office of Security and Human Rights, told ABC RN Breakfast in February there should be limits and conditions on the types of arms being sent to Israel.
"We have templates for this," he said.
"There is a reasonable middle ground for the types of munitions and situations in which they could be used."
US says no evidence Israel violating laws
The decision on weapons follows a visit to Washington by Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant last week when he discussed Israel's military needs with US counterparts.
Speaking to reporters last Tuesday, Mr Gallant said he stressed the importance of US ties to his country's security and of maintaining Israel's "qualitative military edge" in the region, including its air capabilities.
Washington gives $US3.8 billion ($5.8 billion) in annual military assistance to Israel, its longtime ally.
Some members of President Joe Biden's party are calling for him to cut US military aid, while others have resigned over his Israel policy.
The war erupted on October 7 after Hamas militants attacked Israel and killed 1,200 people and seized 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel has retaliated by launching an air and ground assault on Hamas in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 32,000 people, health authorities in Gaza say.
Annelle Sheline became the latest official to call it quits, saying the Biden administration was flouting US law by continuing to arm Israel.
The Middle East analyst who promoted human rights on behalf of the US, announced her resignation from the State Department in an op-ed on CNN last week.
"We are appalled by the administration's flagrant disregard for American laws that prohibit the US from providing assistance to foreign militaries that engage in gross human rights violations or that restrict the delivery of humanitarian aid," she wrote.
Dr Sheline told ABC's RN Breakfast that the new round of weapons being sent to Israel show Mr Biden "is not yet ready to impose the accountability measures that are in American law".
In February, the Biden administration issued a national security memorandum that requires countries engaged in conflict, that are receiving US military aid, to provide "credible and reliable written assurances" they use weapons in accordance with international law.
The deadline for Israel and six other countries to submit the assurances was last Sunday.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said they had no evidence Israel was violating laws with US weapons.
"These assurances were made by a credible, high-level official in the partner government who has the ability and authority to make decisions and commitments about the issues at the heart of the assurances," Mr Miller told reporters.
"We've had ongoing assessments of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law.
"We have not found them to be in violation, either when it comes to the conduct of the war or the provision of humanitarian assistance. We view those assurances through that ongoing work we have done."
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