US Disburses IDR 55.73 Trillion To Israel To Shop For Weapons And Military Equipment

WASHINGTON - The United States State Department (US) said that the US would provide Israel with USD 3.5 billion or approximately IDR 55.73 trillion (exchange rate of IDR 15,924 per US dollar). The disbursement of the funds was made months after the US Congress disbursed it during Israel's war in Gaza.

A State Department spokesman said the department informed Congress on Thursday that the government intends to disburse billions of dollars worth of foreign military funds to Israel.

Previously, this disbursement came from an additional USD 14 billion funding bill for Israel passed by Congress in April.

Tensions in the Middle East have risen and many are concerned about the spread of Israel's war in Gaza which has killed tens of thousands of people and caused a humanitarian crisis.

There has been an increased risk of escalation into a broader Middle East war after the recent killing of Palestinian Islamist group leader Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and military commander Hezbollah Fuad Shukr in Beirut that sparked a threat of retaliation against Israel.

The latest blood spill in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and holding about 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Gaza's Ministry of Health said that since then Israel's military offensive to the Hamas-ruled enclave had killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians while also displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million people, causing a hunger crisis and leading to allegations of genocide Israel denies.