On September 16, 2026, Gregory Meeks placed a hold on the congressional progress of the approximately $2.8 billion arms package that the Trump administration plans to send to Israel. Meeks, the senior Democratic member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, did not automatically cancel the sale, but his move subjected the package's review and advancement to a political and procedural challenge.
The package includes approximately 40,000 2,000-pound-class heavy bombs. The use of this approximately 907-kilogram ammunition in densely populated areas has raised serious concerns about civilian casualties because of its high destructive power. The planned shipment consists of 20,000 Mk-84 bombs and 20,000 BLU-117 bombs.
Meeks found the assurances insufficient
Meeks said he continued to support Israel's security but argued that sufficient assurances had not been provided regarding the possibility that 2,000-pound-class bombs could be used in densely populated areas such as Gaza and Lebanon. He also found the administration's statements that the weapons would be used in accordance with U.S. law and that civilians would be adequately protected insufficient.
The objection highlighted divisions among Democrats over the conditions that should be attached to military support for Israel and how civilians should be protected. However, the hold does not mean that the sale has been definitively canceled or that the shipment has been completely halted; it only makes the package's political and procedural review in Congress more difficult.
Heavy bomb shipments had been debated before
The Biden administration halted some shipments of 2,000-pound-class bombs in May 2024 over concerns about a possible Israeli operation in Rafah and civilian casualties. The decision became one of the key turning points in the debate over the transfer of heavy munitions to Israel and their use in densely populated areas.
In 2025, the Trump administration lifted some shipment restrictions left over from the previous administration and notified Congress of new major arms sales to Israel. New sales approved in January 2026, with a total value reaching $6.67 billion, were also among the developments showing that U.S. military support for Israel was continuing.
