The administration of US President Donald Trump is moving towards completing an arms deal for Israel worth approximately $2.8 billion, including 40,000 2,000-pound bombs, according to US reports citing officials familiar with the proposed sale.
The package reportedly includes 20,000 MK-84 bombs, 20,000 BLU-117 bombs and a further 20,000 I-2000 penetrator warheads. The deal remains under preparation and has not yet been finalised.
The proposed sale is particularly significant because it involves munitions that previously generated controversy within the US administration itself. In 2024, former President Joe Biden suspended a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs over concerns about their potential use in densely populated areas of Gaza.
Military and strategic analyst Brigadier General Elias Hanna focuses on the ability of these weapons to penetrate fortified structures and installations. He explains that heavy bombs in this category can initially be unguided before being fitted with guidance kits that convert them into more precise munitions.
Hanna says the inclusion of the I-2000 is especially significant because, in his assessment, it reflects a requirement to strike fortified targets and underground facilities.
Why Does Israel Need Such Large Quantities?
Professor of International Conflict Resolution Dr Mohammed Al-Sharqawi links the scale of the proposed purchase to the regional security environment.
In his assessment, Israel considers the possibility of threats from Hezbollah or other armed groups, and maintaining large quantities of heavy munitions would provide it with additional capacity to strike targets Israel considers military or heavily fortified.
Hanna, meanwhile, links the quantities being requested to Israeli operational calculations.
He notes that Israel had previously requested approximately 35,000 bombs of this class, while the current request involves 40,000, which he views as an indication that Israel is seeking to rebuild its stocks of heavy munitions following their extensive use during recent military operations.
Hanna also says that some of these munitions were used during the war with Iran, making the replenishment of stockpiles, in his assessment, another factor behind the Israeli request.
Why Have These Weapons Been So Sensitive in Washington?
The proposed sale also brings into focus a key difference between the Biden and Trump administrations.
According to Hanna, the Biden administration was more cautious about supplying Israel with the heaviest bombs because of concerns over their use in densely populated urban areas, while the Trump administration subsequently moved to resume deliveries of such munitions.
US reports confirm that the Biden administration halted a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs in 2024 amid concerns that their use in Gaza could cause extensive casualties, before the Trump administration returned to the path of supplying them.
Al-Sharqawi argues that the issue therefore extends beyond the technical capabilities of the weapon itself to questions of how and where it is used, particularly in densely populated civilian environments.
Hanna similarly stresses that the problem does not lie solely in the destructive capability of the bomb, but also in the target selected and the manner in which the weapon is deployed.
Using a munition weighing around 900 kilograms in an urban environment, he says, can have extensive effects even when the weapon is guided.
What Does the Deal Mean for US-Israeli Relations?
Al-Sharqawi places the proposed agreement within the broader framework of US military support for Israel and the American policy known as maintaining Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge.
This principle is intended to preserve Israel’s advanced military capabilities relative to neighbouring states and potential regional adversaries.
According to Al-Sharqawi, annual US military assistance to Israel provides a substantial share of the financing for Israeli defence purchases. The arrangement therefore functions both as military support for Israel and as a financial flow that largely returns to the US defence industry.
Hanna places the issue in a longer historical context, arguing that maintaining Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge has become an entrenched element of US policy in the Middle East and has developed across successive American administrations.
He traces the evolution of this commitment from US policies dating back to the 1960s through to long-term military assistance arrangements established during the presidency of Barack Obama.
Does the Deal Signal Preparations for Another War?
Al-Sharqawi connects the proposed deal to efforts to rebuild military capabilities and prepare for a range of potential threat scenarios, while Hanna places greater emphasis on replenishing ammunition stocks after their extensive use in previous wars and operations.
From this perspective, the deal does not necessarily mean that another war is imminent.
It does, however, indicate, according to both analysts, that Israel wants to preserve a substantial capacity to conduct heavy strikes against large or fortified targets should its political and military leadership decide to employ that capability in the future.
