The Trump administration plans to sell more than $7 billion in weapons to Israel, including thousands of missiles and bombs.
The State Department spoke to Congress on Friday about the massive arms sales agreement as a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas – two days after President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
Two approved State Department approved sales were delivered to Congress.
The first is $6.75 billion for an array of ammunition, guidance kits and other related equipment. This includes 166 small-diameter bombs, 2,800 500-pound bombs, thousands of guidance kits, fuses and other bomb components and support equipment. These delivery starts this year.
The second arm package is for 3,000 Hellfire missiles and related equipment, with an estimated cost of $660 million. Delivery of missiles is expected to begin in 2028, and its use requires additional training by the US military.
The sale is another step in Trump's efforts to strengthen Israeli weapons stock. In late January, days after he took office, he lifted the hold by sending a 2,000-pound bomb to Israel. The Biden administration suspended the shipment of the bomb known as the “Bunkerbuster” over concerns about civilian casualties, particularly during the attack on Rafa in South Gaza city.
Trump told reporters that he released them to Israel “because they bought them.”
Rep. Gregory Meeks (DN.Y.), a top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tore the Trump administration by bypassing Congress and selling arms.
“Today, the Trump administration has informed me that it will abolish Congressional oversight and years of standing practice and will soon inform billions of arms sales,” Meeks said. statement on friday. “The move is another denial by the privilege of legitimate and legal oversight of Congress' Donald.”
Biden administration officials have informed Congress unofficially about the sale last month. Authorities then said some of the weapons in the package could be sent from current US stocks, but most would take a year or several years to deliver.
Typically, the State Department is standard practice for the first time to notify the top four members of the House and Senate Foreign Relations Committee if the price exceeds a certain amount before providing formal notice. is. If any of the other three lawmakers on the relevant committee opposed the sale, traditionally the State Department refrained from giving formal notice until the issues raised by members have been resolved.
The announcement comes at a particularly sensitive time, but highlights Trump's solid support for Israel.
The president and Netanyahu met at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the fragile ceasefire and hostage trade in the Israel-Hamas war, and share concerns about Iran. Three more Israeli hostages were released on Saturday under a ceasefire.
Allies have expressed opposition to Trump's plan to resettle Gaza, expressing concerns that could put a ceasefire contract at risk.
But Trump claimed Friday that it was a simple “real estate transaction” and that the US was “doing nothing.”
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