Israel will ask US for $1bn to ‘replenish’ Iron Dome

Benny Gantz will meet US officials in Washington on Thursday, weeks after the 11-day escalation with Gaza.

Israel’s defence chief Benny Gantz will travel to Washington, DC, on Thursday to request a $1bn replenishment of the close United States ally’s Iron Dome air defence system, US Senator Lindsey Graham and Israeli officials have said. Graham said he expects the US will quickly authorise the request in the wake of an 11-day escalation between Israel and Hamas, in which Israeli officials said the Iron Dome intercepted hundreds of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. “There will be a $1bn request coming to the Pentagon this week from the [Israeli] defence minister to replenish the Iron Dome and a few other things, to upgrade the system,” Graham told reporters during a visit to Jerusalem on Tuesday.