Trump Administration Advances Massive $2.8bn Heavy Bomb Sale to Israel Amid Mounting Congressional Opposition

The Trump administration is advancing plans to provide Israel with a $2.8bn arms package consisting of 907kg (2,000-pound) bombs, marking the largest single procurement of this specific munition in recent years, according to reports by the Washington Post and the AFP news agency. Financed through Foreign Military Financing—a program where Washington supplies funds that Israel utilizes to purchase US-made weaponry—the agreement encompasses 40,000 total munitions. This includes 20,000 MK-84 general-purpose bombs, 20,000 BLU-117s (which are thermally coated variants of the MK-84 intended for safer naval storage), and I-2000 Penetrator warheads engineered to breach fortified underground targets.

The Washington Post noted that the MK-84, historically dubbed the “hammer” by US pilots during the first Gulf War, ranks among the most devastating munitions within Western arsenals, capable of projecting metal fragments across hundreds of metres and fracturing thick concrete structures. Citing an unnamed federal official, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson wrote on X that an American-made Mark 84 features a destruction radius of half a mile, generates a thermal wave comparable to the surface of the sun, collapses apartment buildings, and leaves behind craters thirty-five feet deep.

Congressional committees have received informal notification regarding the transaction. While a senior administration official told the Washington Post that all foreign arms sales are proceeding through the designated process, the State Department stated it refrains from commenting on proposed sales prior to formal congressional notification.

Rights groups have repeatedly criticized the Israeli military for deploying 907kg bombs hundreds of times across Gaza and Lebanon, including within zones previously designated as safe for civilians. The transaction follows a temporary pause on a single comparable shipment implemented in 2024 by former US President Joe Biden’s administration due to civilian casualty concerns—marking the sole munition withheld during the Gaza conflict—before President Trump reversed the decision during his first month back in office.

This major arms deal unfolds against a backdrop of increasing friction between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside growing bipartisan apprehension in Washington regarding unconditional military assistance. Senator Chris Van Hollen announced intentions to obstruct the sale, accusing President Trump of dispatching taxpayer-funded weaponry to a government led by a wanted war criminal. Similarly, former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene stated that the public did not vote for or support these actions, pointing out that American resources have been utilized in the deaths of tens of thousands of individuals. Tucker Carlson characterized the approximately $3bn agreement as a gift to the Israeli government as it operates to eliminate an unarmed civilian population in Gaza, urging US senators and lawmakers to halt the initiative.

Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the US Program at the International Crisis Group, observed that the sale conveys a vote of confidence to Israel, regardless of intent, at a time when the administration publicly expresses a desire to de-escalate regional tensions. Analysts view the timing as a calculated move by Israel to secure extensive US military backing immediately, driven by concerns that a future administration might adopt a less unconditional stance.