The Trump administration has approved a nearly $3 billion arms sale to Israel, bypassing the usual congressional review, to provide the country with more 2,000-pound bombs it is using in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In a series of notifications sent to Congress on Friday, the State Department said it had signed an agreement to sell more than 35,500 MK 84 and BLU-117 bombs and 4,000 Predator warheads for $2.04 billion.
“The Secretary has determined and justified in detail that an emergency exists that requires an immediate sale to the Government of Israel … thus waiving the requirement for congressional review,” the State Department said in a statement.
The first deliveries are expected to begin in 2027, the statement said.
Using the same rationale, the State Department also reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had approved another $675.7 million sale of ammunition to Israel, to be delivered starting next year.
Additionally, the report said Rubio had approved an emergency sale of $295 million worth of Caterpillar D9R and D9T bulldozers.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid since its founding, receiving about $310 billion — adjusted for inflation — in total economic and military assistance.
Since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in 2023, the U.S. has passed legislation providing at least $12.5 billion in direct military aid.