Trump administration proposes selling nearly $6 billion in weapons to
Israel
[September 20, 2025]
By MICHELLE L. PRICE and MATTHEW LEE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has told Congress it plans to
sell nearly $6 billion in weapons to Israel, a fresh surge of support
for the U.S. ally as it faces increasing isolation over its war in Gaza.
It includes a $3.8 billion sale for 30 AH-64 Apache helicopters, nearly
doubling Israel's current stocks, and a $1.9 billion sale for 3,200
infantry assault vehicles for Israeli army, according to a U.S. official
and another person familiar with the proposal who spoke on condition of
anonymity to discuss plans that have not been made public.
The weapons would not be delivered for two to three years or longer.
The huge sales come as U.S. plans to broker an end to the nearly
two-year war between Israel and Hamas have stalled and after Israel's
strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, drew widespread condemnation
among U.S. allies in the Middle East.
The U.S. has kept up its support despite growing international pressure
on Israel and attempts from a growing number of U.S. Senate Democrats to
block the sale of offensive weapons to Israel.
The State Department declined to comment on the sales, which were first
reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Israel has launched a new offensive, pressing forward with plans to take
over Gaza City, as a professional organization of scholars studying
genocide has said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
The U.K, which last year said it was suspending exports of some weapons
to Israel out of concerns they could be used to violate international
humanitarian laws, recently barred Israeli government officials from
attending the country’s biggest arms fair.
Turkey also said it was closing its airspace to Israeli government
planes and any cargo of arms for the Israeli military, and Italian Prime
Minister Giorgia Meloni in a speech condemned Israeli attacks on Gaza as
disproportionate.
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U.S. Army AH-64E Apache helicopters are pictured at Joint Base
Andrews, Md., June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Trump said Friday that he plans to meet Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan in Washington next week, with plans to discuss the
purchases of Boeing aircraft and a deal for F-16 fighter jets.
The Biden administration paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to
Israel over concerns about civilian casualties, but Trump lifted
that hold when he took office in January.
The Trump administration has already approved about $12 billion in
major military assistance to Israel this year. Most recently, the
U.S. in June approved a half-billion-dollar arms sale to Israel to
resupply its military with bomb guidance kits for precision.
This latest request from Trump administration was sent to Congress
about a month ago.
The amount of the $6 billion package was confirmed by two other
people familiar with the matter and granted anonymity to discuss it
because the plans were not public.
Congress routinely conducts informal reviews of such arms sales at
the committee level, sending the requests back to the State
Department for the more formal process.
These sales are part of a 10-year agreement between the U.S. and
Israel that is nearing its end.
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