Trump administration approves $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel including 40,000 bombs

The Trump administration has approved a $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel, delivering 40,000 heavy 2,000-pound bombs, including 20,000 MK-84 and 20,000 BLU-117 munitions. Funded by U.S. taxpayer money through Foreign Military Financing, the deal marks the largest single sale of these controversial weapons in recent years. The sale reverses a 2024 pause imposed by the Biden administration over civilian casualty concerns in Gaza, where the death toll has surpassed 73,264 Palestinians.

$2.8 billion arms sale

• ▪The Trump administration is pressuring leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee to approve the $2.8 billion arms sale
• ▪The proposed $2.8 billion arms sale is larger than previous U.S. sales of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, including a $2.04 billion deal in 2025
• ▪The $2.8 billion arms sale is funded through the United States Foreign Military Financing program, which provides U.S. taxpayer grants for Israel to purchase American weapons
• ▪The $2.8 billion arms sale of heavy bombs to Israel remains a proposed sale, not an approved one, and Representative Gregory Meeks has placed it under an informal congressional hold
• ▪The Trump administration has informally notified congressional committees of the pending $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel

40,000 heavy bombs delivery

• ▪The proposed $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel includes 40,000 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds each
• ▪The 40,000-bomb package consists of 20,000 MK-84 bombs and 20,000 BLU-117 bombs
• ▪The arms package includes 20,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads, which are designed to explode on delay after smashing through concrete, rock, or soil

MK-84 bomb specifications

• ▪Former U.S. Army explosive-ordnance-disposal technician Trevor Ball stated that an MK-84 bomb is capable of bringing down an entire building
• ▪The 2,000-pound MK-84 bomb is among the most destructive munitions in Western arsenals, capable of penetrating metal and thick concrete
• ▪A single 2,000-pound bomb has a lethal blast radius exceeding 1,000 feet and can leave a crater up to 50 feet deep

Biden delivery pause reversal

• ▪In 2024, the Biden administration paused a shipment of MK-84 and MK-82 bombs to Israel due to concerns over mass civilian casualties in Rafah
• ▪President Donald Trump lifted the Biden administration's hold on the heavy bomb shipments to Israel upon taking office
• ▪The Trump administration approved a series of arms sales to Israel totaling $6.67 billion in January 2026
• ▪The Trump administration bypassed normal congressional review in 2025 to approve a nearly $3 billion arms sale to Israel that included over 35,500 bombs

Gaza civilian casualty concerns

• ▪Human rights groups and foreign governments have condemned Israel's use of 2,000-pound bombs in densely populated areas of Gaza and Lebanon
• ▪Israel's military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,264 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry's figures as of September 2026
• ▪In 2023, Israel reportedly used MK-84 bombs in areas of the Gaza Strip designated as safe for civilians, creating craters measuring at least 40 feet across
• ▪The Israeli military denied allegations from the documentary 'NAZA' that it had planned and approved a strike in Gaza expecting 500 civilian deaths

Debatable claims

• ▪Israel should stop using 2,000-pound bombs in densely populated areas
• ▪The United States should halt the sale of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel