Trump: US Military Aid to Israel Drops to Zero by 2026

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the United States will cease providing approximately $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel by the end of 2026.

Trump made the declaration while speaking by phone to Fox News on the morning of the congressional midterm elections. He stated that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached an agreement months ago to terminate the funding. Trump argued that Israel no longer requires the assistance because it has become a successful country. "They don't need it," he said. He added that the United States would still help Israel if necessary.

The announcement conflicts with the existing ten-year memorandum of understanding signed in 2019. That agreement provides Israel with $3.8 billion per year and is scheduled to expire in the fall of 2028. The current deal mandates that most of the funds be spent on weapons manufactured in the United States. Trump noted that the US produces the finest weapons in the world.

Israeli officials expressed surprise at the timing of the decision. A representative from the Finance Ministry told the Walla news site that no formal document regarding the end of aid had been submitted from the Prime Minister's Office. The ministry was aware of the intention to stop assistance but was unprepared for an immediate cutoff. A senior defense official told the Kan public broadcaster that the announcement was unexpected and that Israel would study the implications.

Gadi Eisenkot, the chairman of the Yashar party, criticized the process. He said that learning about a change in the strategic relationship through the media poses a real danger. Eisenkot stated that Netanyahu can no longer be trusted and must be replaced. The Prime Minister's Office did not provide immediate comment.

Netanyahu has previously discussed ending US military aid as a gradual process over the next decade. In a June letter to a US congressman, he wrote that Israel should move from an aid recipient to a partner. He told The Economist in January that he hoped to end the aid within ten years and told CBS in May that he wanted support to reach zero.

Trump claimed that Netanyahu raised the idea because he understood it was a point of contention. The president also suggested he wanted to deny critics a talking point, specifically naming Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee in Michigan. The United States provides more military aid to Israel than to any other country. Israel has received over $300 billion in American economic and military assistance since 1948, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Under the 2025 budget, the Israeli Defense Ministry received a record allocation of 110 billion shekels, or $29 billion.

Part of Israel's push to end the aid stems from frustration during the Gaza war. Several allies halted arms supplies, including the Biden administration, which held up munitions over concerns about harm to Palestinian civilians. American public support for Israel has declined since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. A June poll from Quinnipiac University found that 48 percent of voters and 66 percent of Democrats believe the United States is too supportive of Israel.