TEHRAN - The US administration’s approval of a massive arms sale to Israel has thrown a spotlight on Donald Trump’s motives for brokering a ceasefire between the Tel Aviv regime and Hamas. 

Trump takes credit for the ceasefire that went into force on January 19. That was a day before he was officially sworn in for his second term as the US president. 

His predecessor Joe Biden also claims credit for the truce agreement that paused Israel’s war on Gaza. 

On Friday, the US State Department formally told Congress that it plans to sell more than $7.4 billion in weapons to Israel. 

Two separate sales have been sent to Congress for approval. One is for $6.75 billion in an array of munitions, guidance kits and other related equipment. It includes 166 small diameter bombs, 2,800 500-pound bombs, and thousands of guidance kits, fuzes and other bomb components and support equipment. Those deliveries would begin this year. The other arms package is for 3,000 Hellfire missiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $660 million. Deliveries of the missiles are expected to begin in 2028.

The Trump administration announced on Friday that it had approved military sales to Israel worth some $7.4 billionThe announcement comes days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump in the White House. 

Before taking office, Trump had exerted pressure on Netanyahu to end the Gaza war.  

But his greenlight for the substantial arms sales amounts to emboldening Israel to renew its genocidal war on Gaza. 

According to officials in Gaza, more than 61,700 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s war on the territory which lasted for more than 15 months. 

Since Israel launched war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Washington has thrown its full military weight behind the regime. 

A report from Brown University's Costs of War project revealed in October last year that Washington had committed a record $17.9 billion in military aid to Israel since the start of the conflict.  

In January this year, the Biden administration had notified Congress of a proposed $8 billion arms sale to Israel. 

Despite his pledge to end wars in the Middle East, Trump is following in Biden’s footsteps. 

US administrations, irrespective of their alignment with the Republican or Democratic parties, have made significant efforts to support Israel's military capabilities.

Trump has attempted to project an image of opposition to the Gaza war. However, the $7.4 billion in arms sales clearly demonstrates that the notion of a significant difference between his stance and that of others is misguided.

The ceasefire that was mediated between Israel and Hamas by the US, Egypt and Qatar just aimed to gloss over Israel’s military setbacks in the Gaza Strip. 

Israel failed to defeat Hamas which was one of its main military goals in the war on Gaza.