Trump admin. approves sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel in upcoming weapons deal
The Hindu – International
You are logged in
Loading…
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one.
Your active subscription(s)
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials,
Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
Products you’ve access to
Additional Subscription Benefits
Account Settings
Need help with your subscription?
September 16, 2026 e-Paper
The View From India
Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.
First Day First Show
News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.
Today's Cache
Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.
Science For All
The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in!
Data Point
Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers
THEdge
At the cutting edge of education and careers
Health Matters
Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there
Gender Agenda
Stories from beyond the binary.
The Hindu On Books
Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.
September 16, 2026 e-Paper
Published – September 16, 2026 05:44 am IST – Washington
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with U.S. President Donald Trump. File
| Photo Credit: AP
The Trump administration is planning to deliver powerful 2,000-pound bombs to Israel as part of an upcoming arms deal, weapons that prompted such concerns about the possibility of mass casualties in Gaza that the Biden administration paused their delivery two years ago.
The ₹2.8 billion package includes 40,000 of the bombs, made up of 20,000 Mk84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, according to two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the plan who spoke on Tuesday (September 15, 2026) on condition of anonymity to discuss the package, which is not yet final.
Congress has been informally notified about the pending deal, most of which is to be paid for with foreign military financing — in which U.S. taxpayer dollars are given to Israel to turn around and buy the weapons from the United States.
The proposed sale is just the latest in a series of Trump administration steps to improve Israeli's military capacity. The conflict in Gaza has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and has decimated the enclave. The U.S. brokered a fragile ceasefire, but violence has continued.
The package, which was reported earlier by The Washington Post, comes as Israel has faced increasing international isolation over its war in Gaza in response to the deadly October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas.
In 2024, the Biden administration held off on one shipment of the bombs, but Mr. Trump lifted that hold when he took office again.
Last year, the Trump administration bypassed a normal congressional review process and approved a nearly USD 3 billion sale to Israel that included more than 35,500 of the bombs. The administration then approved a new series of arms sales to Israel totaling ₹6.67 billion in January.
The 2,000-pound bombs have multiple variants, with some designed to penetrate deep, underground targets while others detonate above ground and cause widespread damage.
Will Trump’s bunker buster bombs punch through Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain?
Though the Israeli military has offered few details about what bombs and artillery it has used in Gaza, experts analyzing strike footage and blast fragments found on-site believe the US-made bombs have been used there, targeting a tunnel network used by Hamas but also killing of people in densely populated areas.
The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in 2023 killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel's offensive in Gaza to retaliate has killed more than 73,264 Palestinians, including those killed since the ceasefire, Gaza's Health Ministry said.
Published – September 16, 2026 05:44 am IST
World
/
Donald Trump
/
USA
/
Israel
/
Israel-US strikes on Iran
Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
BACK TO TOP
Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
Fonte: The Hindu – International
