OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
2:40 PM – Thursday, October 26, 2023
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s office announced that his administration will be sending supplies into Israel that contain drones, weapons, and ammunition, in light of the country’s preparation for an incursion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ attacks.
On Thursday, DeSantis (R-Fla.) declared that he had arranged to ship the supplies to Israel in order to prepare for an invasion of Gaza in response to the attacks carried out by the terrorist group, Hamas.
Jeremy Redfern, a spokesperson for the Florida governor’s office, announced that the state has sent cargo planes with healthcare supplies, drones, body armor, and helmets to Israel.
Redfern additionally stated that Florida worked with groups to transport unspecified numbers of weapons and ammunition. He mentioned that they were “privately funded” and were not purchased by Florida.
However, Redfern did not specify what types of weapons or the quantity of drones and rounds of ammunition that were sent to the Jewish state.
However, he did say that the body armor and helmets were sent to Israel due to a separate request from the Israeli Consul General in Miami.
“At the request of the Israeli Consul General in Miami, cargo planes contracted by Florida were used to transport healthcare and hospital supplies, drones, body armor, and helmets that first responders can use,” Redfern said in a statement.
However, Redfern’s announcement sparked confusion among Maor Elbaz-Starinsky, the Israeli Consul General in Miami.
Elbaz-Starinsky claimed that he did not request drones, body armor, or helmets, and maintained that he did not have a conversation with DeSantis about attaining the weapons through “private” sources.
“Nothing went through me,” Elbaz-Starinsky told the press. “We were never in communication on any shipments of arms or ammunition. The only thing that I have dealt with sending is medical supplies.”
DeSantis has been a vocal supporter of Israel and he has promised that Florida will do as much as possible to help the Jewish State in its efforts against Hamas.
In early October, DeSantis declared an executive order establishing the rescue of Floridians who were in Israel using chartered flights.
On Wednesday, the Florida Governor shared a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, regarding the amount of Americans that have been transported from Israel to Florida in four different rescue flights. He said that almost 700 Americans were flown from Israel to Florida.
The Islamic terrorist organization Hamas initially launched its attack on Israel on October 7th, leading to Israel retaliating against the group. Israel has since escalated its barrage of rockets into Gaza, as Hamas members are still holding hundreds of Israeli hostages.
Over 1,400 Israelis have been murdered in the war, mostly in the initial attack on October 7th.
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