There is growing opposition in the U.S. Senate to a Trump administration-proposed $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel which includes 40,000 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds each, according to the Washington Post. The package includes 20,000 MK-84 bombs and 20,000 BLU-117 bombs, which are both among the largest munitions in any Western arsenal. These bombs are designed to penetrate up to 11 feet of concrete and then explode with the metal skin becoming razor-sharp fragments shredding everything within 400 feet and leaving a crater 36 feet deep.

According to an investigation by the New York Times, some of the worst damage in the Gaza War was done using these American munitions. Routinely Israel used these massive munitions in “safe zones” in Gaza where civilians were congregated. Brian Finucane, a senior advisor at the International Crisis Group, told the Post, “Given the way Israel conducted its air war in Gaza and, to some extent, in southern Lebanon, there are real concerns about how such weapons would be used in densely populated areas. That’s assuming that you have valid military targets to start with, because there are concerns about what Israel deems to be valid military targets. If the Trump administration’s goal is to calm things down in the Middle East, the timing of this is unusual.”