Washington gives $3.8 billion in annual military assistance to Israel, its longtime ally.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Defense Writers Group, Gen Charles Q Brown, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: “Although we’ve been supporting them with capability, they’ve not received everything they’ve asked for.
“Some of that is because they’ve asked for stuff that we either don’t have the capacity to provide or not willing to provide, not right now.”
On Thursday, Navy Capt Jereal Dorsey, the joint staff spokesman, said Gen Brown’s comments were in reference to “a standard practice before providing military aid to any of our allies and partners”.
He added: “We assess US stockpiles and any possible impact on our own readiness to determine our ability to provide the requested aid.