On September 19, 2025, the Trump administration formally notified Congress of its intention to sell nearly $6 billion in advanced weapons and military support equipment to Israel, a move that has ignited debate in Washington and reverberated across international capitals. The proposed deal, first reported by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by multiple outlets including Reuters and Newsweek, includes a $3.8 billion sale of 30 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters—almost doubling Israel’s current fleet—and a $1.9 billion package for 3,200 to 3,250 infantry assault vehicles for the Israel Defense Forces. An additional $750 million in support parts for armored personnel carriers and power supplies is also working its way through the sale process, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The weapons, if approved, would be paid for through U.S.-provided foreign military financing, a longstanding mechanism that underpins the close security relationship between the two countries. Actual delivery of the helicopters and vehicles is expected to take at least two to three years, or possibly longer, according to U.S. officials cited by Reuters and The Times of Israel. The timing means that any impact on the battlefield will not be immediate, but the scale and nature of the sale signal a continued deepening of military ties at a time of mounting international scrutiny of Israel’s ongoing campaign in Gaza.
This latest arms package arrives as U.S.-backed efforts to broker a peace deal between Israel and Hamas have stalled, with the nearly two-year war showing little sign of resolution. The announcement also comes just days after Israel conducted a controversial strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, on September 9, 2025—a move that drew sharp condemnation from regional neighbors such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, as well as criticism from European allies. According to Newsweek, the United Nations released a report this week accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, a charge Israel has flatly denied, calling the report “fake” and based on “Hamas falsehoods, laundered and repeated by others.”
The Trump administration’s support for Israel has been described as "full-throated" by Reuters, contrasting with a growing sense of wariness among Democrats in Congress. On September 18, a group of U.S. senators introduced the first Senate resolution urging recognition of a Palestinian state—a symbolic move that underscores shifting sentiment on Capitol Hill. More than half of Senate Democrats recently voted against further arms sales to Israel, reflecting mounting concerns over civilian casualties and humanitarian law violations in Gaza. Despite these objections, the State Department is seeking approval from the four top Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as is customary for major foreign arms deals.
Not all criticism has come from the left. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a prominent Trump ally, became the first Republican to publicly accuse Israel of genocide and attempted to add an amendment to a bill over the summer that would have ended all U.S. arms sales to Israel. However, her amendment was overwhelmingly rejected, with only six lawmakers voting in support. The debate has exposed divisions within both parties, with some Republicans growing more skeptical of unconditional aid, even as the administration presses ahead with its plans.
The proposed arms sale is part of a broader, decade-long agreement between the U.S. and Israel that is nearing its end. According to The Times of Israel, the Trump administration has already approved approximately $12 billion in major military assistance to Israel in 2025 alone, including a half-billion-dollar sale in June to resupply Israel’s military with bomb guidance kits for precision strikes. Earlier this year, following a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.S., the administration signed off on additional weapons sales, further cementing the strategic alliance.
The context for this latest deal is fraught. Israel’s military expanded operations in Gaza City on September 19, bombarding Hamas infrastructure as displaced Palestinians found themselves with few options for escape. The offensive has drawn fierce international condemnation, particularly from European allies. The United Kingdom, which last year suspended some arms exports to Israel over concerns about violations of international humanitarian law, recently barred Israeli officials from attending its largest arms fair. Both the UK and France have moved toward recognizing a Palestinian state, signaling a shift in European policy. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has publicly condemned Israel’s attacks on Gaza as “disproportionate,” and Turkey has gone so far as to close its airspace to Israeli government planes and any cargo of arms for the Israeli military.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made Germany’s position clear in August: “From the German government's point of view, the even tougher military action of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, which was decided by the Israeli security cabinet last night, makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals are to be achieved. Under these circumstances, the German government is not approving any exports of armaments that can be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice.” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy also struck a somber note at a United Nations meeting in July, stating, “Our support for Israel, its right to exist, and the security of its people, is steadfast. However, the Balfour Declaration came with the solemn promise that nothing shall be done, nothing which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the Palestinian people as well. And colleagues, this has not been upheld, and it is a historical injustice which continues to unfold.”
Meanwhile, the White House has remained largely silent on the specifics of the proposed sale, declining comment when approached by multiple media outlets. The State Department has also refrained from public statements, as is typical during the early stages of congressional review. Congress, for its part, routinely conducts informal reviews of such arms sales at the committee level before requests are sent back to the State Department for formal processing.
Trump, for his part, has continued to cultivate relationships with regional leaders, announcing plans to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington next week. The agenda reportedly includes discussions about Boeing aircraft purchases and a deal for F-16 fighter jets—an indication that U.S. arms diplomacy in the region extends well beyond its relationship with Israel. Notably, the Biden administration had previously paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel over concerns about civilian casualties, but Trump lifted that hold upon taking office in January 2025.
The proposed $6 billion package was first sent to congressional leaders about a month before Israel’s September 9 strike in Qatar, and the administration has continued to seek approval in the weeks since. As world leaders prepare to gather in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly and a high-level Security Council meeting on Gaza, the timing of the deal is sure to be a point of discussion—if not outright contention—on the global stage.
As the U.S. doubles down on its military support for Israel, the chasm between American policy and the positions of many of its traditional allies has widened. With Congress now weighing the proposed sale, the coming weeks promise to be pivotal for U.S.-Israel relations and the broader dynamics of Middle Eastern diplomacy.