Three years after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, the United States has maintained near-complete, unconditional military support for Israel under both the Biden and Trump administrations.
That support has continued despite periodic criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military offensive in Gaza, repeated violations of a ceasefire reached last year, and persistent obstacles to a lasting peace in the Palestinian enclave and the wider region.
At least 74,243 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began. The Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023 killed at least 1,139 people in southern Israel. At least 1,460 additional Palestinians have been killed since a ceasefire went into effect on October 11, 2025, as Israel has continued to expand its area of control.
"The bottom line is that under both the Biden administration and the Trump administration, the US has continued to provide unconditional support for Israel, both in terms of finances, arms transfers and other forms, such as diplomatic support," said Josh Paul, a former State Department official who now runs the A New Policy lobbying firm.
"That's before we start adding in the costs of America's wars in the region, whose causes are greatly attributable to our support for Israel and to Israel's actions," he added.
The United States has provided Israel with nearly $300bn in aid since the country's founding in 1948, adjusted for inflation, more than it has given any other country. A 2008 law requires the US government to ensure Israel maintains a so-called Qualitative Military Edge over its neighbours.
As a result, Israel's military is deeply intertwined with US-made weapons systems, including its air force, tanks, military vehicles, and its Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Iron Beam air defence systems.
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have repeatedly linked US-made weapons to civilian killings in Gaza and the wider region. Israel has blocked independent monitors from entering the Palestinian enclave.
"Because Gaza is a genocide, and the US has supplied so much weaponry, there's really no getting out of the fact that the US has a responsibility," said William Hartung, a defence analyst who has studied US-Israel aid.
Since October 7, 2023, the US has provided at least $25.5bn in direct appropriations to Israel. The baseline figure is $3.8bn per year under a 10-year memorandum of understanding signed during the Obama administration in 2016, covering fiscal years 2024, 2025, and 2026.
In addition, Congress passed and the president signed a supplemental security package of $14.1bn in April 2024, bringing total appropriations significantly higher.
The funding is predominantly composed of Foreign Military Financing, which covers US-made arms transfers and related services. A smaller portion consists of offshore procurement funds, which support Israel's domestic arms industry. Other allocations are designated to replenish existing weapons stocks and maintain Israel's air defence systems.
Israel also has access to a War Reserves Stockpile, a programme that pre-positions certain US weapons inside the country for swift transfer upon approval from Washington.
Direct government appropriations overlap with formal arms sales to Israel. Such sales must be approved by the US State Department, which is required to notify Congress, and can be funded through US military aid or other sources.
