Biden paused similar delivery in 2024 over Gaza casualty concerns
The Trump administration is preparing to deliver powerful 2,000-pound bombs to Israel as part of a $2.8 billion arms package of 40,000 munitions, according to two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the plan who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the package, which is not yet final. The deal was reported earlier by the Washington Post.
The package comprises 20,000 MK-84 bombs and 20,000 BLU-117s, the officials said. Congress has been informally notified of the pending deal, most of which would be paid for through foreign military financing — a mechanism under which U.S. taxpayer dollars are given to Israel, which then uses them to purchase the weapons from American manufacturers.
The 2,000-pound munitions at the center of the package have drawn particular scrutiny in recent years. In 2024, the Biden administration held off on one shipment of the bombs out of concern about the potential for mass casualties in Gaza. Trump lifted that hold when he took office again.
The proposed sale is the latest in a series of Trump administration steps to improve Israeli’s military capacity. Last year, the administration bypassed the normal congressional review process and approved a nearly $3 billion sale that included more than 35,500 of the bombs. In January, the administration cleared a new series of arms sales to Israel totaling $6.67 billion.
The 2,000-pound bombs come in multiple variants. Some are designed to penetrate deep underground targets; others detonate above ground and cause widespread damage. While the Israeli military has offered few details about what specific munitions it has used in Gaza, experts who have analyzed strike footage and blast fragments found on site believe U.S.-made bombs have been deployed there, targeting a tunnel network reportedly used by Hamas but also killing people in densely populated areas.
The war began in response to the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel, which killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Gaza’s health ministry said Israel has since killed more than 73,264 Palestinians in the territory, including those killed in violation of the ceasefire.
The deal comes as a U.S.-brokered fragile ceasefire has been violated several times, and as Israel faces increasing international isolation over its war on Gaza in response to the deadly October 2023 attacks by Hamas. The war on Gaza has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and has decimated the territory.