Tucker Carlson says US is giving Israel 40,000 heavy bombs

WASHINGTON: Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson has described a planned US weapons transfer to Israel as a “gift” of 40,000 2,000-pound bombs, claiming the shipment represents an extraordinary level of destructive power.

Speaking to NPR, Carlson said the United States had approved the transfer and argued that the weapons were effectively being provided at US taxpayer expense because the funding was appropriated by Congress. He compared the overall destructive force of the bombs with the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II.

Carlson said the shipment involved 40,000 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds each and claimed their combined destructive force was six times that of the Hiroshima bomb. The comparison was presented by Carlson as an estimate of explosive force rather than a statement that the conventional bombs have the same effects as a nuclear weapon.

The planned transfer has been independently reported as a multibillion-dollar package. The Washington Post reported that the proposed $2.8 billion package includes 40,000 2,000-pound bombs — 20,000 MK-84s and 20,000 BLU-117s — along with other munitions. The deal is being financed through the US Foreign Military Financing programme, meaning US government funds would finance Israel’s purchase of American-made weapons.

The reported package has attracted scrutiny because 2,000-pound bombs are among the most powerful conventional munitions in the US arsenal. Their use in densely populated areas has previously raised concerns over potential civilian casualties.

Carlson also questioned the role of Congress in approving the transfer. During his NPR interview, he alleged that lawmakers involved in the congressional review had received significant financial support from pro-Israel lobbying groups. These were Carlson’s claims and were not independently established in the NPR interview.

The proposed transfer comes amid continuing debate in Washington over US military support for Israel. US officials have described the package as an arms sale moving through the appropriate process, while reports indicate that congressional committees have been notified and the transaction remains subject to the required procedures.

Carlson’s remarks come as he has increasingly criticized President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, particularly the administration’s approach to Israel and the wider Middle East conflict.

The controversy over the proposed shipment highlights the growing debate in the United States over the scale, cost and humanitarian implications of American weapons transfers to Israel.