The Trump administration is preparing to sell Israel a $2.8 billion package of 907kg (2,000-pound) bombs, reversing a pause imposed by former President Joe Biden's administration over civilian casualty concerns in Gaza. The planned sale would be the largest single sale of the munition in recent years and would exceed previous sales of 2,000-pound munitions to Israel under both the Biden and Trump administrations.
The package is funded through Foreign Military Financing and has been informally notified to congressional committees. The administration is pressing the leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee to secure approval for the sale, setting up a potential fight on Capitol Hill.
US Senator Chris Van Hollen said he would work to block the sale. The full congressional response is unclear, and it remains unknown whether Congress will approve or prevent the deal.
The proposed shipment includes 40,000 bombs, comprising 20,000 MK-84 general-purpose bombs and 20,000 BLU-117s. The BLU-117 is a thermally coated MK-84 variant designed for safer storage by naval forces.
It also includes 20,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads, which are built to strike hardened underground structures. The timeline for delivery has not been disclosed, nor have any conditions or restrictions that may be attached to the sale.
The MK-84 was known as the 'hammer' among US pilots during the first Gulf War. It can tear through thick concrete and throws metal fragments across hundreds of metres.
Israel has used 907kg bombs hundreds of times in Gaza and Lebanon, including in areas it had designated safe for civilians. Biden's administration paused one shipment of such weapons in 2024, citing civilian casualty concerns. Trump reversed that pause on 2000-pound bombs in his first month back in office.
The new proposal marks a shift in the US approach to supplying Israel with the heaviest conventional bombs. It also places the administration's effort to expand military support to Israel before congressional leaders who have been asked to clear the sale.
A senior US administration official said: 'All foreign arms sales follow appropriate procedures. We do not comment on pending sales.'
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