US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday he had signed a proclamation to expedite the delivery of $4 billion in military aid to Israel. Rubio said in a statement from the US State Department that the Trump administration, which took office on January 20, has approved a major $12 billion in foreign military sales to Israel, adding that it “will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s longstanding commitment to Israel’s security, including the means to address security threats.”

Rubio said in the statement, a copy of which was received by Jerusalem, that he used "emergency authority to expedite the delivery of military aid to Israel, its ally in the Middle East, which is now in a fragile ceasefire with Hamas militants in their war in Gaza."

The Pentagon said Friday that the State Department had approved the potential sale of nearly $3 billion worth of bombs, demolition equipment and other weapons to Israel.

The Trump administration notified Congress of the potential arms sales on an emergency basis, breaking with a longstanding practice of giving the chairs and ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees the opportunity to review the sale and request more information before submitting a formal notification to Congress.

Friday’s announcements marked the second time in recent weeks that the Trump administration has declared an emergency to quickly approve arms sales to Israel. The previous Biden administration also used emergency authority to approve arms sales to Israel without congressional review.

The Trump administration on Monday rescinded a Biden-era order requiring it to report potential violations of international law involving U.S.-supplied weapons by allies, including Israel, and has also cut most U.S. foreign humanitarian assistance.

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas on January 19 halted more than 15 months of Israeli war of annihilation in Gaza and paved the way for talks on ending the war, while leading to the release of 44 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Hours after the first phase of the agreed ceasefire expired, Israel said early Sunday it would adopt a proposal by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover. Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, casting doubt on a second phase of the deal that was supposed to include the release of more hostages and prisoners as well as steps toward a permanent end to the war.