Trump Administration Preparing $2.8 Billion Sale of 2,000-Pound Bombs to Israel

The Trump administration on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, informally notified Congress of a planned $2.8 billion sale to Israel of 40,000 907-kg (2,000-pound) bombs — 20,000 MK-84 general-purpose bombs and 20,000 BLU-117s (a thermally coated variant for safer naval storage), plus I-2000 Penetrator warheads designed to strike hardened, underground targets. It would be the largest single sale of the munition in recent years and is financed mostly through US foreign military financing, meaning American taxpayer dollars fund Israel's purchase of the US-made weapons. The Biden administration paused delivery of these bombs in 2023 over concerns about mass-casualty risk in Gaza; Trump lifted that hold on returning to office. The sale drew immediate criticism, with Sen. Chris Van Hollen vowing to work to block it and accusing the administration of 'sending bombs paid for by American taxpayers to a government led by a wanted war criminal.'