Washington Delivers 54,400 Tons of Bombs to Israel: The Largest Heavy Arms Package in Years and Why Chile Should Not Join the Americas Shield

Original article: Washington entrega a Israel 54.400 toneladas de bombas: el mayor paquete de armamento pesado en años y por qué Chile no debe ser parte del Escudo de las Américas

The Trump administration approves a $2.8 billion arms sale financed by U.S. taxpayers, while the Lemkin Institute warns of a «precipice» towards genocide expansion in Gaza and the Middle East.

By El Ciudadano Team

The administration under President Donald Trump has officially informed Congress of its plan to sell Israel 40,000 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds each — including 20,000 MK-84, 20,000 BLU-117, and 20,000 I-2000 penetrating warheads — valued at $2.8 billion. This constitutes one of the largest single transfers of heavy weaponry in the bilateral history between the two nations.

The package is almost entirely financed through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) mechanism, which allows Israel to use taxpayer funds to purchase arms from U.S. defense contractors. This amount is equivalent to the total weight of all bombs dropped on Berlin during World War II and about one-third of those dropped on the Japanese islands during the same conflict.

This operation marks a reversal of the pause policy implemented by the Biden administration in April 2024 regarding MK-84 bombs — referred to as «the hammer» due to their destructive capability — and occurs at a time of heightened political tension in Washington, with midterm elections approaching and American public opinion, according to various polls, turning dramatically against unconditional support for Israel.

Chile Must Not and Should Not Sign the Americas Shield: Complicity in Genocide is Not a Security Agreement

The government of José Antonio Kast has confirmed Chile’s full membership in the Americas Shield, a military coalition promoted by Donald Trump that includes fifteen right-wing governments in the region under the pretext of combating organized crime. Kast has insisted that this involves «coordination, information sharing, and tracking gangs» rather than «military operations». However, the official text that Chile signed — released by the U.S. State Department, not the Chilean Foreign Ministry — includes intentions to invoke the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR) and adopt «a resolution that promotes and facilitates collective action against narcoterrorist organizations within the framework of the Rio Treaty». This means a mutual defense mechanism that, in practice, opens the door to military cooperation that the Chilean government has publicly denied.

The contradiction is significant. The same State Department that drafted that declaration is the one that, in September 2026, notified Congress of the sale of 60,000 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds to Israel for $2.8 billion, funded by American taxpayers, while the Israeli military continues to kill civilians in Gaza with those same munitions. The Trump administration not only supplies the armaments but finances them, authorizes them, and when Congress tries to oppose, circumvents their objections by declaring emergencies or forcing resolutions with unreachable majorities.

Chile is a Party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In September 2024, exercising that status, it submitted an intervention statement to the International Court of Justice in the South Africa case against Israel, invoking the duty to prevent genocide and emphasizing that Israel «knows or should know of the existing risk of genocide». This gesture, celebrated by the international community, was an unequivocal signal that Chile recognized the severity of the situation in Gaza and assumed the legal obligations stemming from that Convention.

Opposition in Congress, but No Capacity to Block

Representatives, Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has formally announced his opposition to the package, arguing that the munitions «would not be used in accordance with U.S. and international law» and that the administration has not provided «sufficient guarantees» that Netanyahu’s government will employ them with «significant protections for human life».

«The Trump administration has not provided sufficient guarantees that these weapons will be used by Netanyahu’s government in accordance with U.S. law and with appropriate protections for civilians,» declared Meeks, who emphasized that his decision «does not diminish Congress’s support for Israel’s legitimate defense needs» but reflects «Congress’s responsibility to ensure that arms financed by the United States are used legally, responsibly, and with significant safeguards for human life».

However, Meeks’s objection is more symbolic than operational. The administration can bypass legislative opposition by declaring an emergency, as it has done before. To block the sale, Congress would need to pass a Joint Resolution of Disapproval (JRD) with a two-thirds majority in both chambers — a threshold virtually unattainable in the current political climate and just weeks before critical elections — and then overcome a presidential veto.

The sale has attracted widespread condemnation from human rights organizations, religious groups, and lawmakers. J Street, the liberal pro-Israel advocacy group, summarized the paradox in a statement to Haaretz: «You can’t rebuild Gaza with 2,000-pound bombs». Legislative pressure is not limited to the Israeli package: Senators like Edward Markey and Bernie Sanders have introduced similar resolutions against the parallel $5 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, which includes 5,000 BLU-117 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds.

74,000 Dead and a Genocide Documented by the UN

The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the casualty count since October 2023 has reached 74,040 martyrs and 175,168 injured, with 1,439 dead and 5,052 injured just since the ceasefire on October 11, 2025. The actual number is likely much higher: the ministry warns that «a large number of victims remain trapped under the rubble and in the streets, as ambulance and civil defense teams have been unable to reach them».

The UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has been emphatic: «The trade and ongoing sale of arms to Israel by some countries constitute complicity in genocide.» A recent UN report indicated the involvement of more than 60 countries in «the mass crime that has enabled Israel to commit genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.» The Lemkin Institute itself, in its statement on September 21, 2026, labeled the package a «direct threat to international peace and security» and warned that «the world must respond appropriately to a threat of this magnitude.»

The 2,000-pound bombs are precisely the central instrument of that destruction. An MK-84 detonating in an urban environment creates a lethal shockwave that extends more than 300 meters and a crater around 15 meters deep. One such bomb «carries enough explosive energy to demolish a multi-story building». Humanitarian organizations warn that «deploying weapons of this scale in densely populated neighborhoods results in massive civilian casualties even when the intended target is a single individual».

A «Precipice» Towards Regional War

The Lemkin Institute goes beyond the immediate impact in Gaza, warning that the arms package could be designed to «prolong the war against Iran and export it to other operational theaters.» The institute argues that both Trump and Netanyahu are facing internal electoral pressures — the former with upcoming midterm elections in November, the latter with his own political troubles — making it «reasonable» to assume that both would «seek an expansion of regional war and genocide.»

The I-2000 penetrating warheads included in the package are specifically designed to «penetrate through earth, rock, and reinforced concrete before detonating after a delay,» making them suitable for attacking tunnel networks and underground structures in Gaza and Lebanon, but also for reaching nuclear facilities in Iran.

The Lemkin Institute holds Trump and Netanyahu responsible but also stresses that «the blame does not solely rest with the genociders and arms suppliers,» but also with «those who chose silence, those who quietly benefited, those who twisted narratives, and those who provided public support.» Among these, it cites «corporations, universities, academics, NGOs, banks, and wealthy individuals who have continued to profit from revenue and investments linked to the Israeli government and military,» as well as «conventional media organizations that have used passive language to downplay Israel’s responsibility.»

The Legal Obligation That the World Ignores

The Lemkin Institute reminds that States Parties to the Genocide Convention have «an obligation to take measures to prevent the United States and Israel from using these weapons to continue committing genocide in Palestine and expand destruction to the rest of the Middle East,» which «will certainly lead to a World War.»

The International Court of Justice has established that obligations arising from the Convention are erga omnes partes — due by each State Party to all others — meaning that «each Contracting Party has a common interest in its observance.» The duty to prevent genocide «arises as soon as a State becomes aware» that there is a serious risk of it being committed.

However, the international response has been, at best, uneven. While Ireland, Belgium, and Norway have repeatedly called for a cessation of Israeli military operations and greater humanitarian access, other countries have maintained a complicit silence or continued supplying arms. The International Criminal Court is currently examining a complaint from Nicaragua against Germany for alleged complicity in genocide through arms exports, and Swiss lawyers have submitted a similar complaint against their Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Political Storm Ahead

The arms package arrives at a time of increasing political isolation for Trump. The president faces «a potential electoral disaster in November,» with midterm elections threatening to upend Republican control of Congress. His response has been to promise $5,000 to each American if Republicans maintain legislative control and sending Vice President JD Vance to «plead with Americans to give us another chance, or give us a couple more years.»

Public opinion data is devastating for the cause of unconditional support for Israel. A Gallup poll from February 2026 showed that, for the first time in history, Americans express greater sympathy for Palestinians (41%) than for Israelis (36%). Thirty percent of Americans — including half of all Democrats — believe that Israel is committing genocide, compared to only 20% who believe otherwise and 50% who say they do not know enough to determine. According to the Institute for Global Affairs, only 16% of Americans support unrestricted arms transfers to Israel, while 38% believe that all transfers should be halted and another 24% approve of shipments only if there are «strong restrictions» on their use.

El Ciudadano