Trump announces plan to halt $4 billion annual U.S. military aid to Israel starting 2027

President Donald Trump told Fox News that Washington will stop providing Israel with roughly $4 billion in military aid each year beginning in 2027. He said the aid was no longer needed by Israel and that the United States would continue to sell arms to its closest Middle East ally. Trump added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had discussed the change with him for several years.

"Look, we give them $4 billion of things and money, and they don’t need it," Trump said.

The president linked the policy shift to the midterm election campaign, noting that critics such as Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed have used the aid as a political target. Unlike many European nations, the United States does not impose an electoral silence period, allowing officials to comment during voting.

Netanyahu’s office did not respond immediately. Gadi Eisenkot, a rival in Israel’s defence establishment, warned that learning of the decision through media reports was dangerous and called for the prime minister’s replacement.

The current aid package, a ten-year $38 billion agreement signed in 2016 under former President Barack Obama, is set to run until 2028.

At the same time, U.S. forces carried out defensive strikes on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz that were deploying surface-to-air missiles, according to a U.S. official. Iranian state television reported explosions on Qeshm Island. Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Tehran had given a “firm and rational response” and warned the United States to avoid a renewed conflict, adding that Iran remained ready “with its finger on the trigger.”