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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is sending drones, weapons and ammunition to Israel as it prepares for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. The items ended up on a flight that was also sending humanitarian aid, including medical supplies. The military supplies were purchased by an undisclosed third party.
“Since we were already sending donated supplies to Israel, Florida was able to take the body armor and helmets on our cargo flights. The state did not purchase these items,” said Jeremy Redfern, a spokesman for the governor’s office. The Israeli government asked the state of Florida for help in transporting military aid abroad. The supplies were on two cargo planes that left Florida for Israel on October 17.
“The governor’s office was contacted by the consul general’s office for assistance in clearing federal bureaucratic hurdles related to getting those items to Israel,” Redfern said. DeSantis is an outspoken supporter of Israel and has vowed that Florida will do as much as possible to help the country in its efforts against Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States. He and his wife, Casey, have welcomed Floridians to Israel, whom the governor has sent chartered flights to bring home.
His latest move comes ahead of the third Republican presidential debate and as polls show, Nikki Haley is moving up and closing in on DeSantis’ second-place finish. Donald Trump remains by far the frontrunner. DeSantis will deliver what his campaign calls a major foreign policy speech at the Heritage Foundation on Friday. The governor will speak Saturday morning at the annual meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas.
He has used his actions to spotlight his leadership skills and has said President Joe Biden has not done enough to help Americans seeking to leave the war-torn region. Florida’s governor has also accused Donald Trump and Nikki Haley of not supporting Israel enough. The White House, meanwhile, said it is not illegal for a state to provide foreign aid, but questioned whether DeSantis followed all the proper procedures.
“I would certainly let the governor talk about what Florida is doing. It is not illegal for the governor of a state to offer some level of foreign aid to another country. There are laws and regulations that govern how the export process is handled,” White House spokesman John Kirby said. ‘And that’s all done through Commerce. I couldn’t speak with authority today as to whether the governor checked all those boxes or not. You should really talk to him and his staff, but it’s not illegal for the governor of the state to do that kind of thing.” Kirby also said he did not know whether or not DeSantis had informed the White House of his decision to send aid.
DeSantis declared a state of emergency in Florida on October 12, giving him the authority to mobilize state resources to “bring Floridians home and transport necessary supplies to Israel.” The Florida Division of Emergency Management has been flying Americans back to Florida since October 15. About 700 Americans have been evacuated from the war-torn area. Officials are unclear on how much has been authorized for the operation, but the Orlando Sentinel has identified purchase orders that total nearly $50 million set aside for the operation.
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