WP: Trump administration prepares $2.8 billion bomb sale to Israel

The Trump administration is preparing a $2.8 billion package to provide Israel with 40,000 2,000-pound bombs, in what The Washington Post described as the largest single sale of the controversial munitions in recent years.

A U.S. official told the newspaper that the package includes 20,000 MK-84 bombs and 20,000 BLU-117s, along with 20,000 I-2000 Penetrator warheads. The official, like others cited in the report, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military matters.

The weapons would be purchased with U.S. taxpayer funds through Foreign Military Financing, a mechanism under which the United States provides funding that Israel uses to purchase military equipment.

The 2,000-pound bombs are among the most powerful conventional munitions in Western military arsenals. An MK-84 can send metal fragments over a wide area, penetrate metal and thick concrete and create large craters.

Asked about humanitarian concerns surrounding the proposed transfer, a senior Trump administration official said: “All foreign arms sales are moving through the appropriate process. We do not comment on pending sales.”

The proposed package would be larger than previous U.S. sales of 2,000-pound munitions to Israel under both the Biden and Trump administrations.

It would surpass a $2.04 billion weapons sale approved in 2025 that bypassed the normal congressional review process, according to The Washington Post.

The 2,000-pound bombs have been used by Israel on hundreds of occasions in Gaza and Lebanon and have played a significant role in the conflicts’ death tolls, the newspaper reported.

By Sabina Mammadli