The Trump administration has urged congressional leaders to approve new transfers of more than $1 billion in bombs and other military equipment to Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing US officials familiar with the matter.
The proposed weapons sales include 4,700 1,000-pound (half-ton) bombs, valued at more than $700 million, along with armored D9 bulldozers manufactured by Caterpillar, worth more than $300 million.
These new arms requests, to be paid for by the US’s annual military aid to Israel, come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington and is scheduled to meet with President Trump on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister’s Office announced on Tuesday morning that Netanyahu had met in Washington with US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, ahead of his meeting with the president.
“Pursuant to the meeting, Israel is preparing for the working-echelon delegation to leave for Doha at the end of this week in order to discuss technical details related to the continued implementation of the agreement,” according to the announcement, and “Upon his return from the US, Prime Minister Netanyahu will convene the Security Cabinet to discuss Israel’s overall positions regarding the second stage of the deal, which will guide the continuation of the negotiations.”
Some prominent Democrats and other members of Congress have called on the Biden administration to limit the billions of dollars in weapons sales to Israel in an effort to choke the IDF’s progress in neutralizing Hamas in Gaza.
Ahead of Israel’s operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah last May, the Biden administration had suspended a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to the IDF. Last week, the Trump administration lifted that suspension, indicating that it would not withhold future weapons shipments to Israel.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One last week about his decision to remove Biden’s restraints on Israel, Trump explained that he approved the release of the bombs and bulldozers because “they paid for them and they have been waiting for them for a long time.”
Netanyahu expressed his gratitude to Trump in a video message, stating, “Thank you President Trump for keeping your promise to give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself, to confront our common enemies, and to secure a future of peace and prosperity.”
The Pentagon refers to the class of half-ton and higher munitions as “general purpose bombs,” or GP. They use a thick-walled metal casing filled with explosives, typically TNT, Composition B, or Tritonal. The explosive filler makes up about 30% to 40% of the bomb’s total weight.
