The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Trump administration is assembling a multibillion-dollar transfer of 2,000-pound (907 kg) bombs for Israel.
Valued at $2.8 billion in US taxpayer funds, the cache contains 40,000 weapons weighing 2,000 pounds (907 kg), specifically including 20,000 MK-84s, 20,000 BLU-117s, and 20,000 I-2000 Penetrators.
An MK-84 detonation flings metal shrapnel for thousands of feet (hundreds of meters) and decimates thick concrete, marking it as a supremely destructive weapon.
Informing congressional committees of the transfer introduces a severe political test for Democrats as frustrations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strain bilateral relations.
Officially categorized as a sale, the arrangement relies on US capital provided to Israel through Foreign Military Financing, which could take the form of a no-repayable grant and thus its cost will most likely be incurred by the administration rather than on the Israeli government.
This historic cache vastly overshadows prior Trump and Biden administration munitions shipments, notably exceeding a bypassed $2.04 billion transaction in 2025.
A former US Army explosive-ordnance-disposal technician, Trevor Ball, explained the methodology. "They do like to use them a lot when they're trying to target any building," he noted. "If Hezbollah or whoever is in a building, an MK-84 will bring down the whole building."
President Donald Trump immediately overturned a weapons embargo in January 2025 that the administration of President Joe Biden had previously enforced over Palestinian casualties.
Public anger over inflation tied to the Iranian war fueled a July vote where over 100 House Democrats demanded an end to Israeli assistance.
Rounding out the transfer confirmed by The Washington Post are bunker-penetrating I-2000s and BLU-117s equipped with thermal naval shielding.
