ISLAMABAD-The Biden administration has approved a $735 million arms sale toIsrael amid Tel Aviv’s ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip, according to areport published on Monday.

The decision to approve the sale was made on May 5, about a week before theescalating violence began, the Washington Post reported. But the approvalcame amid then-mounting criticism of Israel’s planned expulsions ofPalestinian residents from an East Jerusalem neighborhood, and repeatedraids on Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest in Islam.

The decision to green light the sale, which is mainly comprised of JointDirect Attack Munitions, has stirred opposition among some members of USPresident Joe Biden’s Democratic Party, including Congresswoman Ilhan Omar,as the death toll from Israel’s Gaza offensive continues to mount.

Omar said shortly after the Post’s story was published that the sale shouldnot be completed “while crimes against humanity are being committed withour backing.”

“It would be appalling for the Biden Administration to go through with $735million in precision-guided weaponry to Netanyahu without any stringsattached in the wake of escalating violence and attacks on civilians,” shesaid in a statement, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“If this goes through this will be seen as a green light for continuedescalation and will undercut any attempts at brokering a ceasefire,” addedOmar.

At least 212 Palestinians have been killed, including 61 children, inIsraeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since last week, according to theGaza-based Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 11,305 people have alsobeen injured and dozens of buildings destroyed or damaged in the Israeliassault.

In Israel, 10 people have also been killed in Palestinian rocket fire fromthe Gaza Strip.