The Trump administration is moving ahead with a fresh arms package for Israel worth close to $3 billion, centred on tens of thousands of powerful 2,000-pound bombs, according to reports first published by The Washington Post and confirmed by multiple US outlets this week.
The proposed $2.8 billion deal includes 20,000 Mk-84 bombs, 20,000 BLU-117 bombs and 20,000 bunker-busting penetrator warheads, all falling under the 2,000-pound weapons category. These munitions have previously drawn criticism from international observers and human rights groups over their potential for large-scale civilian casualties when used in densely populated areas such as Gaza, concerns that had led the Biden administration to pause a shipment of similar weapons roughly two years ago. That hold was lifted once Trump returned to office.
The package would mark the latest in a string of major arms transfers to Israel approved under the current administration. Last year, the administration bypassed the standard congressional review process to approve a separate, nearly $3 billion sale that included more than 35,500 bombs, and followed that in January with an additional series of arms sales worth $6.67 billion.
According to reporting on the deal, the purchase is being financed in part through the US State Department’s Foreign Military Financing programme, meaning a portion of the cost would be covered using US taxpayer funds. Analysts have noted that the scale of the current package would make it one of the largest single sales of 2,000-pound munitions to Israel in recent years, though the deal has not yet received final sign-off.
