Trump moves toward $2.8 billion bomb sale to Israel
Package of 40,000 heavy bombs would deepen US involvement in a war rights groups say amounts to genocide in Gaza
WASHINGTON (MNTV) — The Trump administration is advancing a $2.8 billion arms package for Israel that includes 40,000 2,000-pound bombs, one of the largest U.S. transfers of the heavy munitions in years, renewing scrutiny of Washington’s role in supplying weapons used in one of the world’s most densely populated areas.
The package reportedly includes 20,000 MK-84 and 20,000 BLU-117 bombs, along with 20,000 I-2000 penetrator warheads built to strike hardened underground targets — among the most destructive conventional weapons in the U.S. arsenal, whose use in crowded areas has drawn repeated warnings from humanitarian experts.
Most of it would be financed through U.S. Foreign Military Financing, meaning American taxpayer funds would underwrite Israel’s purchase.
The proposal has been informally presented to congressional committees; the State Department declined to comment ahead of any formal notification.
The transfer would extend a pattern.
The Biden administration paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs in 2024 over the risk of mass civilian casualties in Gaza; Trump lifted that suspension on returning to office and has since approved further major transfers.
Researchers have documented U.S.-made heavy bombs being used in Gaza, including in dense residential areas; Israeli officials say such weapons are needed against Hamas’s tunnel network, while critics ask why less destructive alternatives are not used to reduce civilian harm.
The deal advances despite declining U.S. public support for the war and mounting international condemnation — including a UN commission of inquiry and South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice, both of which have concluded or argued that Israel’s conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide, a charge Israel denies.
For Palestinians, the package means the continued flow of some of the world’s most destructive bombs into a genocide that has killed more than 73,000 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
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