US State Department informs Congress of $7.4 billion arms sale to Israel
The proposed sale of the bombs “improves Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serves as a deterrent to regional threats,” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.
Agencies
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US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
WASHINGTON, 8 FEB
The US State Department on Friday formally told Congress that it plans to sell more than $7.4 billion in weapons to Israel, including thousands of bombs and missiles, days after President Donald Trump hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
According to the State Department, two separate sales were sent to Congress for approval. One is for $6.75 billion in an array of munitions, guidance kits and other related equipment. It includes 166 small diameter bombs, 2,800 500-pound bombs, and thousands of guidance kits, fuzes and other bomb components and support equipment. Those deliveries would begin this year.
The other arms package is for 3,000 Hellfire missiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $660 million. Deliveries of the missiles are expected to begin in 2028.
The proposed sale of the bombs “improves Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serves as a deterrent to regional threats,” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.
And the missile sale would “improve Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving the ability of the Israeli Air Force to defend Israel’s borders, vital infrastructure and population centers,” it said.
A source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel in January that then-US president Joe Biden’s administration informally notified congressional lawmakers about the proposed arms deal, aligning with a long-standing practice of giving the chairs and ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees the opportunity to review a sale and ask for more information before making a formal notification to Congress.
Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Trump administration’s notification came despite his request the sale be paused until he received more information, denouncing what he termed as a decision to break with a long-standing precedent.
He said he had been discussing his concerns about the sale with the administration, which he charged had failed to provide significant documentation or justification.
“I continue to support Israel’s critical military needs as it faces a range of regional threats and was engaged in close consultation with the administration on a range of questions and concerns,” Meeks said in a statement.
He said the decision showed a lack of respect for Congress as a co-equal branch of government. “In the United States we do not have kings — we are a democracy rooted in the Constitution, governed by laws,” Meeks said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The massive arms sale comes as a fragile hostage release and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas holds, and follows Trump’s surprise announcement alongside Netanyahu earlier this week that he expects the Gaza Strip to be taken over by the United States.
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