Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Thursday condemned the Trump administration’s planned $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel, which includes 40,000 heavy bombs, linking the package directly to recent statements by Israel’s defense minister about military operations in Gaza.
In a post on X, the Michigan Democrat wrote:
“As Israel’s defense minister pledges to ‘finish the job’ of genocide in Gaza, the Trump admin is sending the apartheid regime $2.8 billion of bombs, using your tax dollars. That’s 40,000 bombs, weighing 2,000 pounds each. The Senate must act to block this sale immediately.”
The post, published the morning of September 17, 2026, came two days after reports confirmed the scale of the proposed munitions transfer. According to U.S. officials cited by multiple outlets, the package consists of 20,000 MK-84 bombs, 20,000 BLU-117 bombs, and 20,000 bunker-busting I-2000 penetrator warheads. Each of the primary bombs weighs approximately 2,000 pounds.
The State Department has informally notified congressional committees of the deal. Most of the cost would be covered through Foreign Military Financing, meaning U.S. taxpayer funds provided to Israel would be used to purchase the American-made munitions. Production and delivery timelines for such large quantities typically stretch over months or years unless expedited.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz made the remarks referenced by Tlaib on Wednesday, September 16. Responding to criticism from a right-wing political rival ahead of Israel’s October 27 elections, Katz stated that the Israel Defense Forces are prepared, once given the directive to eliminate Hamas, “to finish the job so that we can also implement the migration plan.” He said roughly 70 percent of Gaza had already been emptied of its population during the military campaign that began after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
Katz described an October 2025 ceasefire announced by President Trump as having “supreme value” for securing the return of remaining hostages and a U.S. commitment to disarm Hamas. He added that Israeli officials understand the disarmament commitment is unlikely to be fulfilled and that the military stands ready to act. Katz has previously referred to a “migration plan” for Gaza’s approximately two million Palestinians, describing it as voluntary while noting discussions with the United States about potential destinations.
The $2.8 billion package ranks among the largest single transfers of heavy air-to-ground munitions to Israel in recent years. The blast radius of a 2,000-pound bomb can prove lethal beyond 1,000 feet and create craters up to 50 feet deep. Human rights organizations and some foreign governments have criticized Israel’s use of these munitions in densely populated areas of Gaza and Lebanon.
In mid-2024, the Biden administration paused a shipment of similar 2,000-pound bombs over concerns about civilian casualties. President Trump lifted that restriction after taking office in January 2025. In early 2025, the Trump administration approved a separate package valued at roughly $2.7 billion that included more than 35,000 of the one-ton bombs. Additional large munitions sales followed later that year.
Congressional opposition has already surfaced. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he would not approve the exports, citing “grave, unresolved concerns about how these munitions could be used in densely populated areas of Gaza and Lebanon.” Formal notification of the sale would trigger a review period. Blocking the deal would require both chambers of Congress to pass a resolution of disapproval with enough votes to override a potential presidential veto.
Tlaib has consistently called for an end to U.S. military support for Israel throughout the Gaza conflict. In previous statements on her official congressional website, she has described Israeli operations as genocide and apartheid, urged a total arms embargo, and criticized successive administrations for providing weapons without conditions. In one earlier release, she stated that U.S. funding enables the “genocide of Palestinians” and called for an immediate permanent ceasefire, full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and accountability through international legal mechanisms.
The congresswoman has also introduced multiple amendments to defense bills seeking to restrict or ban certain munitions transfers and deeper U.S.-Israel military cooperation. Her Thursday post continues that pattern of opposition, framing the latest bomb package as direct support for what she terms ongoing genocide while urging the Senate to intervene before formal approval.
Israel maintains that heavy munitions are necessary to target Hamas fighters and infrastructure embedded in civilian areas, including tunnels and bunkers. U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed or commented in detail on the pending sale, consistent with policy against discussing proposed arms transfers prior to formal congressional notification.
Netanyahu is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week. The arms package arrives amid continued friction between the Trump administration and the Israeli prime minister over the scope and duration of military operations beyond Israel’s borders, even as overall U.S. military assistance to Israel remains robust, including a baseline of approximately $3.8 billion annually.
Tlaib’s call for Senate action places the proposed sale squarely in the ongoing debate over the scale of American munitions support for Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which has drawn sustained domestic and international scrutiny over civilian harm.