The Blubber

The U.S. State Department formally notified Congress on Friday of its plan to sell more than $7.4 billion in weapons to Israel, just days after President Donald Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House.

The proposed sale includes two separate deals. The first, valued at $6.75 billion, covers a range of munitions, guidance kits, and support equipment. This package includes 166 small-diameter bombs, 2,800 500-pound bombs, and thousands of fuzes, guidance kits, and other bomb components, with deliveries set to begin this year.

The second deal involves 3,000 Hellfire missiles and related equipment at an estimated cost of $660 million. These missiles are expected to be delivered starting in 2028.

According to the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the bomb sale will enhance Israel’s ability to counter present and future threats, strengthen homeland defense, and serve as a deterrent against regional dangers. The Hellfire missile sale, it added, will improve the Israeli Air Force’s capacity to protect Israel’s borders, key infrastructure, and population centers.

A source familiar with the negotiations told The Times of Israel that then-President Joe Biden’s administration had initially given lawmakers an informal notice about the arms deal in January, following the practice of allowing leaders of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees to review the sale and request additional information before formal notification.

Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the Trump administration for proceeding with the formal notification despite his request to pause the sale until more details were provided. Meeks denounced the decision as a break from long-standing precedent.