Two years after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,100 Israelis and the taking of 250 hostages, the debate over U.S. military aid to Israel has reached a fever pitch. The ongoing conflict in Gaza has not only left a devastating human toll but has also reignited fierce arguments in Washington and beyond about the role of American support in the crisis. As the war grinds into its third year, the facts and figures surrounding U.S. involvement—and the consequences for civilians—are increasingly coming under scrutiny.
According to a comprehensive report released on October 7, 2025, by the Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson School of International and Public Affairs, the U.S. has provided Israel with $21.7 billion in military assistance since the start of the Gaza conflict. The same report, cited by outlets including RT and Common Dreams, highlights that the Pentagon has spent an additional $9.65 to $12.07 billion on military operations in support of Israel, not just in Gaza but also in Yemen and other parts of the Middle East. That brings the total U.S. investment in the Gaza conflict to between $31.35 and $33.77 billion over just two years.
These staggering sums are more than just numbers on a ledger. As Bill Hartung, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and author of the report, put it: "The devastating damage the current Israeli government has done to Gaza and its people would not have been possible without US financing, US-supplied weapons, and US assistance with spare parts and maintenance." The report goes on to state, "Without U.S. support, the Israeli government would have no combat aircraft to drop bombs and many fewer bombs. An increasing share of Israel’s arsenal would be down for maintenance without US government or US contractor mechanics and spare parts. In addition, Israel’s government could not have built a military of its current size and sophistication without US financial backing."
The consequences of this support are visible in the statistics. Israeli airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza, launched in response to the 2023 Hamas attack, have left more than 67,000 people dead and almost 170,000 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities. The Gaza Ministry of Health reports that at least 67,173 Palestinians have been killed and 169,780 injured as of October 2025. The United Nations estimates that more than 10% of Gaza’s population has been killed or injured since July 2023, and the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. At least 453 people, including 150 children, have starved to death due to Israel’s near-total blockade on humanitarian aid, which began in October 2023. The famine gripping the enclave has been widely reported, with the blockade pushing Gaza into a state of desperation not seen in decades.
Notably, the U.S. military aid package to Israel since October 2023 has included more than $8 billion in direct financing, $725 million in "offshore procurement" to support Israel’s domestic arms industry, $4.4 billion in weapons, and $801 million in ammunition procurement. Some of this aid is set to be delivered in future years, with billions more in arms sales agreements not yet included in the current totals. The report underscores that U.S.-supplied weapons—combat aircraft, helicopters, missiles, and bombs—have been central to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Police operations not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank and beyond.
As the war continues, calls to reassess U.S. support for Israel have grown louder. The debate is not new. In fact, as Washington Jewish Week recalled in an October 7, 2025, retrospective, arguments over U.S. military aid to Israel stretch back decades. In 1983, Israeli Finance Minister Yoram Aridor discussed with the Reagan administration the possibility of reducing the overall level of U.S. military assistance to Israel—provided that all aid came as outright grants rather than loans. At the time, the concern was Israel’s ability to repay its debts. Defense Minister Moshe Arens criticized Aridor’s approach, emphasizing the tension between financial prudence and security needs. Today, the context has shifted: the push to decrease military aid is driven not by financial concerns, but by public disapproval of Israel’s actions in Gaza and the mounting humanitarian crisis.
The international response has been sharp. In September 2025, a UN commission described West Jerusalem’s actions as “genocide,” intensifying the global condemnation and putting further pressure on Washington to reconsider its position. Despite this, neither President Joe Biden nor his predecessor Donald Trump has used Israel’s reliance on U.S. weapons as leverage to alter Tel Aviv’s conduct. As the Costs of War Project report bluntly states, "Thus far, the US government has not acted to stop the killing by cutting off military aid." The report recommends that "any U.S. government effort to impede Israel’s military operations in Gaza and beyond must include a ban on new sales, a suspension of arms in the pipeline that have been committed but are yet to be delivered, and a cut off of spare parts and support for the maintenance of Israeli weapons systems already in use."
The political landscape in the U.S. reflects a complex mix of loyalties, strategic interests, and growing dissent. Some policymakers argue that military aid to Israel is essential for maintaining a key ally in a volatile region, while others point to the scale of civilian suffering and the potential violation of U.S. laws, such as Section 6201 of the Foreign Assistance Act, which prohibits military aid to countries that block humanitarian assistance. Critics note that, since October 2023, Israel has severely restricted the flow of aid into Gaza, exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe.
Meanwhile, efforts at diplomacy continue. In early October 2025, Hamas and Israel began indirect peace talks in Egypt, with U.S. representatives expected to join. President Donald Trump, who has maintained the policy of arming Israel pursued by President Biden, recently proposed a prisoner swap agreement and called for an end to the bombing of Gaza. Hamas responded by agreeing to release the remaining hostages but has so far rejected calls to disarm. Despite Trump’s public plea, the IDF has continued its operations, with at least 104 more people killed in Gaza since the proposal was made.
Supporters of continued U.S. aid argue that Israel faces an existential threat and needs robust military backing to defend itself against groups like Hamas. Others, like Stephanie Savell, director of the Costs of War Project, stress the moral imperative to consider the human cost: “Our research highlights numbers, but we must never lose sight of this key fact: What we’re talking about is human suffering. This research shows that the suffering is unthinkably vast.”
As the United States approaches another election cycle, the future of military aid to Israel is likely to remain a contentious issue. With billions of dollars at stake and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsening, the question of America’s role—and responsibility—has never been more urgent. The facts are clear, but the path forward is anything but.
