US approves new multi-billion military sale to Israel

The decision comes as Israeli officials reportedly acknowledged that 70,000 Palestinians were killed in Gaza during the war with Hamas

The US has approved more than $6.5 billion in new potential military sales to Israel amid rising tensions with Iran, officials in Washington have announced.

According to two separate statements by the Pentagon and State Department on Friday, the package includes a $1.98 billion worth of light tactical vehicles, AH-64E Apache helicopters costing $3.8 billion, and a separate $740 million contract for armored personnel carriers power packs. AM General, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin are among the prime contractors.

”The proposed sale will enhance Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its ability to defend Israel’s borders,” the Pentagon said, adding that the move “will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”

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The approval comes after Israeli media outlets reported on Friday that military officials broadly accepted the death toll numbers registered by authorities in Gaza, putting Palestinian deaths at about 70,000. After the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023, Israel has faced accusations of committing numerous war crimes in the Palestinian enclave as well as blocking humanitarian aid.

The arms sales approval followed escalating tensions between the US and Iran, with US President Donald Trump not ruling out a military option after he promised to help protesters in the Islamic Republic.

Trump has consistently portrayed himself as Israel’s staunchest supporter, in contrast to his predecessor, Joe Biden, who rebuked the Jewish State over what he described as collateral civilian casualties in Gaza. In May 2024, he paused shipments of heavy bombs to Israel while acknowledging that US-supplied weapons had been used to kill civilians. After Trump’s return to office, in March 2025, Washington repealed what it described as “baseless and politicized conditions on military assistance to Israel.”

In a separate foreign military sales decision, Washington also approved a potential $9 billion sale of 730 Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles and related equipment to Saudi Arabia, with Lockheed Martin as principal contractor. US officials said that the move “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a Major non-NATO Ally.”