Tens of thousands of 155mm artillery shells, thousands of bunker-buster munitions and 200 kamikaze drones – these are just some weapons and ammunition Israel has asked the U.S. for since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

An internal Pentagon document revealed by Bloomberg on Wednesday details the requests made by "a senior Israeli leader" in late October. The list also includes 2,000 Hellfire laser-guided missiles for Apache gunships and 36,000 rounds of 30mm ammunition for its cannon.

Israel's Apache helicopters have been operating constantly since the early hours of October 7, closely assisting ground forces in the Gaza Strip and on the Lebanon border. According to the document, the missiles, and ammunition have already been provided to the Israeli army.

Israel also asked for 3,000 M141 bunker-buster shoulder fired rockets, made by Nammo Talley Defense and capable of penetrating up to 20 cm of concrete. 1,800 of these have already been shipped, as of late October. Israel has also asked for 400 120mm mortar rounds.

Also on Israel's list, per Bloomberg, are 200 Switchblade 600 dive-bombing drones made by the American AeroVironment company. These drones have a range of 40 km, more than 40 minutes of flight time and a combination of cameras and infrared sensors. The Switchblade, which was also shipped to the Ukrainian army – is equipped with a warhead based on the American Javelin missile, and can hit armored vehicles, bunkers and exposed troops.

According to Breaking Defense, the U.S. Army has ordered more than 100 such drones for its own use in October, leading to the assumption that there are no drones currently available in warehouses.

The document confirms that Israel will be given back the two Iron Dome batteries it had sold to the U.S. Army – which eventually chose a different system – as well as 312 Tamir interceptors. The batteries were shipped to Israel by sea.

The most controversial munitions are the 57,000 155mm shells, at least a portion of which were sent from the U.S. Army's stockpiles in Israel to Europe, for the Ukrainian war effort. Human rights groups as well as Palestinian officials have criticized the use of cannons in the densely-populated Gaza Strip.

The shortage in shells is a problem that has repeated itself in various conflicts in Israel and around the world. Last July, however, Israel's Defense Ministry and Elbit signed a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to supply tens of thousands of shells.

The Israeli list of requests also includes 75 armored Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, some of which have already been supplied. Israel also asked for 5,000 PVS-14 night vision devices, manufactured by Elbit America, and L3Harris. 3,500 of these have been provided. At least one item on the list – 20,000 M4A1 rifles (a variant of the AR-15) – has already caused a stir. The U.S. has even threatened to halt the supply when it learned that National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir distributed the weapons to security squads during events that could be construed as political.

Democrats grow wary

Meanwhile, Congressional Democrats are increasingly wary of the Biden administration’s lack of transparency regarding the public disclosure on arms sales to Israel – which is in contrast to its self-reported information about similar sales to Ukraine.

The administration is also pushing for the authority to bypass notification requirements to Congress that apply to every other country receiving foreign military financing.

"What I can tell you is we are providing assistance to Israel through very different mechanisms than how we provide assistance to Ukraine," said Pentagon deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh.

While Ukraine aid is primarily provided via drawdown authorities, which permits the "speedy delivery of defense articles and services from Department of Defense stocks to foreign countries and international organizations to respond to unforeseen emergencies."

Israel is mainly through official foreign military sales, foreign military financing, and then direct contracting that Israel does with private commercial companies.

Efforts to provide Israel with $14 billion in emergency assistance have hit a standstill due to political gridlock in Washington.

The House passed a stopgap funding measure on Tuesday to keep the government open, which will now go to the Senate. The effort, however, does not include supplemental assistance to Israel.

Negotiations to link Israel and Ukraine funding, meanwhile, have hit a brick wall over border security.