Trump administration seeks congressional approval for $1 billion arms sale to Israel Report by WSJ

The Trump administration has requested congressional approval for the transfer of approximately $1 billion in military aid to Israel, despite ongoing efforts to maintain a fragile cease-fire in Gaza.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials, revealed that the proposed arms package would include 4,700 1,000-pound bombs worth over $700 million and Caterpillar-built armored bulldozers valued at over $300 million, per Caliber.Az.

These transfers would be funded from the US military aid allocated to Israel, which totals $3.3 billion annually in foreign military financing.

As required by law, major foreign arms sales must be approved by Congress. The State Department has notified key committees, including the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees, which must authorize the transfer before it can be finalized. The State Department did not respond immediately to Anadolu’s request for comment.

The request comes during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, where he is expected to meet with President Donald Trump to discuss the situation in Gaza and broader regional issues. Netanyahu’s trip is part of ongoing discussions about the cease-fire in Gaza, which has been in place since January 19, 2025, following a temporary truce and a hostage exchange deal. The request for new arms sales follows a similar move by the Biden administration, which in the final days of its term "informally" notified Congress of an $8 billion proposed arms deal with Israel. That deal included munitions for fighter jets and artillery shells.

The United States faces mounting criticism over its continued military aid to Israel amid escalating violence in Gaza. More than 47,500 Palestinians, many of them women and children, have been killed since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Gaza's health ministry. On the Israeli side, nearly 1,200 people died in the initial cross-border attack by Hamas, according to Israeli authorities.

Several human rights organizations, former US State Department officials, and Democratic lawmakers have called on the US government to suspend arms transfers to Israel, citing violations of international law and US legal obligations, such as the Leahy Law.

The Leahy Law, named after former US Senator Patrick Leahy, requires the US government to withhold military aid from foreign military or law enforcement units if there is credible evidence of human rights violations. Human rights groups have documented instances of US-made weapons being used in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, which have resulted in civilian casualties. However, the US government has yet to confirm whether American-made weapons were involved in these incidents.

By Tamilla Hasanova