Trump Admin Approves Sending Heavy Bombs to Israel
The Trump administration is preparing a $2.8 billion arms package for Israel that would include 40,000 powerful 2,000-pound bombs. The proposed deal has drawn attention because the Biden administration had previously paused the delivery of similar bombs over concerns about the risk of mass casualties in densely populated areas of Gaza.
The package includes 20,000 Mk84 bombs and 20,000 BLU-117 bombs, according to US officials familiar with the plan. The package also includes 20,000 I-2000 penetrator warheads, according to reporting by The Washington Post. The proposed sale has been informally communicated to relevant congressional committees, but the package had not been finalised when the reports were published.
Most of the purchase is expected to be financed through the US Foreign Military Financing programme. Under this arrangement, US government funds are provided to Israel for the purchase of American-made military equipment.
The proposed sale is part of a broader series of US military-support measures for Israel under the Trump administration. In 2024, the Biden administration paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs because of concerns about their possible use in Gaza. After returning to office, Trump lifted that hold.
The 2,000-pound bombs are designed for use against large or heavily protected targets. Some variants are general-purpose bombs, while penetrator versions are designed to reach hardened or underground structures. Their use in densely populated areas has attracted scrutiny because of the potential for extensive damage and civilian casualties.
The proposed deal comes as Israel’s military campaign in Gaza continues following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed in Israel and 251 people were taken hostage, according to US and Israeli figures cited in recent reports. Gaza health authorities report that more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed during the conflict.
The conflict has also led to continuing international criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Israel has said its military actions are part of its response to the Hamas attack and has defended its operations as self-defense. Hamas’s actions and Israel’s military response have both been the subject of international scrutiny.
The new weapons package is therefore being closely watched because of its size, the type of weapons involved and the continuing humanitarian concerns surrounding the Gaza conflict. If completed, it would represent a significant additional transfer of heavy munitions to Israel.