A $2.8bn Package of 40,000 Bombs
According to two US officials and another person briefed on the plan, who spoke anonymously on Tuesday because the arrangement is still being finalized, the Trump administration intends to send heavy 2,000lb bombs to Israel under a forthcoming arms package. That package, valued at $2.8bn, covers 40,000 munitions: 20,000 MK-84s plus 20,000 BLU-117s. Such weapons raised fears of large-scale civilian deaths in Gaza, leading the Biden administration to halt their transfer two years ago. Lawmakers have received informal notice of the deal, which would largely be funded through foreign military financing, whereby US taxpayer money goes to Israel, which then purchases the weapons from the United States.[S1]
This potential sale represents merely the most recent move by the Trump administration aimed at strengthening Israel's armed forces. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed during the war in Gaza, and the territory has been largely destroyed. Although the US had helped arrange a fragile ceasefire, that truce has been broken on multiple occasions. News of the package, first reported by the Washington Post, emerges as Israel confronts growing international isolation over its campaign in Gaza, which followed Hamas's deadly attacks on 7 October 2023.[S1]
Reversing the Biden-Era Pause
Upon taking office again in 2025, Trump immediately reversed a Biden-era hold from 2024 on a shipment of MK-84 bombs destined for Israel. During the early phase of Israel's Gaza offensive after the 7 October attack, the Biden administration had supplied thousands of these 2,000lb munitions. In the previous year, the Trump administration sidestepped the usual congressional review and cleared a sale to Israel worth close to $3bn containing over 35,500 of the bombs. It subsequently authorized additional arms sales to Israel amounting to $6.67bn in January.[S1]
The Lethal History of 2,000lb Bombs
The 2,000lb bomb comes in several versions; certain types are built to pierce deeply buried targets, while others explode above the surface and inflict extensive destruction. US-manufactured one-ton bombs have figured in hundreds of lethal strikes across Gaza and Lebanon. In late 2023, the New York Times reported that Israel had repeatedly used MK-84 bombs in parts of Gaza it had labeled safe zones for civilians. Trevor Ball, a former US army explosive-ordnance-disposal technician who examines open-source imagery of civilian harm from American weapons, told the Post that Israel's military employs MK-84s to level whole buildings when pursuing suspected militants. Ball said that if Hezbollah or anyone else is inside a building, an MK-84 will collapse the entire structure.[S1]
Israel's military has disclosed little about the specific bombs and artillery employed in Gaza, but specialists who study strike footage and blast debris recovered from the ground conclude that US-made bombs were used, striking a tunnel network that Hamas reportedly operated while also killing civilians in crowded neighborhoods. The Hamas-led assault on southern Israel in 2023 left roughly 1,200 dead and resulted in 251 people being taken hostage. Gaza's health ministry reports that Israel has since killed over 73,264 Palestinians, among them people killed in breach of the ceasefire. Robert Mackey contributed reporting.[S1]
