Scoop: U.S. to send Israel artillery shells initially designated for Ukraine

The Pentagon plans to send Israel tens of thousands of 155mm artillery shells that had been designated for Ukraine from U.S. emergency stocks several months ago, three Israeli officials with knowledge of the situation tell Axios.

Why it matters: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli ministry of defense told their U.S. counterparts they urgently need artillery shells to prepare for a ground invasion in Gaza — and a potential escalation of the war by Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli officials say.

U.S. officials have suggested that diverting...