State Department announces $7B arms sale to Israel after Congress blocked initial deal

The Trump administration announced a $7 billion arms sale to Israel, including munitions and missiles, just days after Congress blocked an initial deal.

The State Department said Friday that it approved $6.75 billion in munitions, guidance kits, fuzes and munitions support, including 2,166 GBU-39/B small-diameter bombs, for sale to Israel. In the other part of the package, the U.S. is sending 3,000 Hellfire missiles and other equipment at the estimated cost of $660 million.

The deliveries of the missiles are slated to start in 2028.

“The proposed sale improves Israel's capability to meet current and future threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and serves as a deterrent to regional threats,” the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in the press release. “Israel already has these weapons in its inventory and will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.”

The arms sales came just two days after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington and held a joint press conference with President Trump. The deal marks the first multi-billion arms sale to Israel under the current administration.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the Trump administration for reportedly bypassing Congress and instantly proceeding with the weapons sale.

“Earlier today, the Trump Administration informed me that it would abrogate Congressional oversight and years of standing practice and immediately notify billions of dollars in arms sales,” Meeks said in a statement on Friday. “This move is yet another repudiation by Donald Trump of Congress’ rightful and legitimate oversight prerogative.”

The top four legislators on both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee can pause arms sales to U.S. allies if they are valued over a certain amount.

Congress put a hold on a $1 billion weapons package to Israel earlier this week, which reportedly included 4,700 1,000-pound bombs and Caterpillar’s armored bulldozers. After the weapons transfer was halted, Meeks said he would approve the request when he is comfortable with the responses he ask of the current administration.

“This is not a situation — Biden, especially Trump — where a king comes in and says, ‘This is what I want,’ and you just do it automatically," the New York Democrat told The Hill, adding, "And in this case, because Prime Minister Netanyahu is here, you want to make it look like something."

“No. I’m going to do the job that I took an oath to do," he continued. "And what I have done, and continue to do, on a responsible manner — of reviewing … when I get my questions answered, then I’m fine."

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