(Reuters) -U.S. Senator Mark Kelly was commenting on an NBC News report when he spoke about the weapon Israel used to kill Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon and not confirming it was made in the United States, his spokesperson said on Monday.
"We see more use of guided munitions, JDAMs, and we continue to provide those weapons," Kelly told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, using an abbreviation that stands for Joint Direct Attack Munitions.
"That 2,000-pound bomb that was used, that's a Mark 84 series bomb, to take out Nasrallah. That was a guided – I'm pretty confident that was a guided weapon that was used in that case," said Kelly, chair of the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee.
In an earlier interview with Senator Marco Rubio, show host Kristen Welker said NBC had "confirmed just this morning that Israel used a U.S.-made 2,000-pound bomb in the strike."
Jacob Peters, communications director and senior adviser to Kelly, said on Monday: "He was not confirming one way or another what weapon Israel used. He was commenting on NBC’s own reporting, which was referenced on the show, that the Nasrallah strike used a U.S.-made munition."
The Israeli military has declined to comment on the weapons used in the attack on Friday. Kelly has said it is appropriate for the U.S. to impose conditions on some of the aid it provides. JDAMs convert a standard unguided bomb using fins and a GPS guidance system into a guided weapon.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Heather Timmons and Lisa Shumaker)
