Trump says US will end annual military aid to Israel this year

Trump said in a telephone interview with Fox & Friends on 3 November that the US was still providing the money, but that “it gets cut off at the end of the year”.

He said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to stop the aid months ago, and that Netanyahu had raised the idea. Netanyahu’s office did not immediately comment, the Associated Press reported. In January, Netanyahu had spoken of tapering off US military aid over the next decade.

The existing US-Israeli framework covers the American financial years 2019 to 2028. A 2025 Congressional Research Service report says it pledged $38 billion over ten years, subject to congressional appropriations: $33 billion in military financing grants and $5 billion for missile defence. That averages $3.8 billion a year.

The Times of Israel described Trump’s announcement as almost certainly false, citing the agreement through 2028. But the existing framework is not legally binding and does not by itself rule out a new plan. Congress can change annual funding levels, and Trump did not explain how his proposed cut would be implemented.

Israeli opposition figures called for answers. Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot urged Netanyahu to explain the announcement, while Yair Golan warned that ending the aid would be a severe blow to Israel’s security, AP reported.

Trump said Israel no longer needed the assistance and pointed to criticism of the payments by Democratic politicians, including Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Speaking on the day of the US midterm elections, he also said Israel could continue buying American weapons and that the US would help the country if needed, without specifying what that help might entail.