US to send thousands of bombs, missiles as Israel plans wider assault on Gaza

The United States is set to send a large shipment of air munitions to Israel of over 3,000 bombs and missiles as Israel intensifies its assault on Gaza and prepares for potential military action against Iran.

The munitions package is intended to support the Israeli Air Force for a large-scale offensive currently being planned against the enclave.

According to Israeli media, the shipment is part of broader US military support aimed at "resolving" the war in Gaza and preparing for possible eastern expansion.

The approval comes despite growing international outcry over the staggering human toll of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza. Since the war began, more than 167,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded, most of them women and children.

Over 11,000 remain missing under the rubble, as UN agencies warn of famine, mass displacement, and systematic destruction across the besieged enclave.

In addition to the current shipment, Israel is expected to receive over 10,000 more air munitions in the coming months to replenish its reserves, stretched thin by sustained military operations across multiple fronts for over 18 months.

This new arms transfer is part of a larger weapons agreement between Washington and Tel Aviv.

In February 2025, the US Congress approved the Pentagon to sell Israel precision-guided bombs, missiles, and associated equipment worth $7.41 billion. The $8 billion deal, initially passed by the Biden administration in January, was temporarily frozen before being revived by President Donald Trump upon his return to office.

Last week, the US Senate overwhelmingly rejected a bid to block the arms sales to Israel over the human rights crisis facing Palestinians in Gaza following Israel's bombardment of the enclave and suspension of humanitarian aid deliveries.

US law gives Congress the right to review major foreign weapons sales and block them by passing resolutions of disapproval. Although no such resolution has both passed Congress and survived a presidential veto, the law requires the Senate to vote if a resolution is filed. 

The current agreement includes 3,000 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, 2,166 GBU-39 guided bombs, over 13,000 JDAM guidance kits for aerial bombs of various sizes, and over 17,000 FMU-152A/B fuses.

These components will be supplied by major American defence contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and L3Harris, with deliveries starting this year and continuing into 2028.

US arms sales to Israel have skyrocketed since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.