- State Department sends notifications of sales to Congress
- Trump expresses unequivocal support for Netanyahu government
The Trump administration approved the sale of more than $7.4 billion in weapons to Israel, reinforcing Washington’s commitment to arming its top Middle Eastern ally despite global criticism over its actions in Gaza and Lebanon.
The State Department notified Congress on Friday that it had approved the sale of 3,000 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles and related equipment for $660 million, as well as $6.75 billion in bombs, guidance systems and fuses, it said in two separate releases.
“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability,” the department said in both statements announcing notifications to Congress, which has the authority to block the sales.
President Donald Trump’s administration last month released a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel that had been paused by former President Joe Biden over how Israel had conducted its military assault against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, an Iran-backed group designated by the US and European Union as a terrorist organization, attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 250. Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 47,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and reduced much of the territory to rubble. The two sides reached a temporary ceasefire agreement last month.
Amid the war, Israel’s offensive widened to target another Iranian proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon, which had long been firing barrages of rockets over the border.
Trump has signaled full-throated support for Israel’s government, and has proposed that the US take control of the Gaza Strip at the end of the war, an idea that drew condemnation from world leaders who said it amounted to ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
He welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington this week.
The sales include more than 2,100 GBU-39/B 250-pound bombs, and 2,800 bodies for MK-82 500-pound bombs. Deliveries of the bombs and associated guidance systems is expected to begin next year, while the Hellfires, made by Lockheed Martin Corp., will start in 2028.
The proposed bomb sales will be filled from both US inventories and from contractors, including Boeing Co., ATK Tactical Systems Co. and a unit of L3Harris Technologies Inc.
BLOOMBERG
