Trump: US to stop funding $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel by the end of the year

US President Donald Trump told Fox News on Tuesday that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed that the US would stop paying annual military aid to Israel of around $3.8 billion by the end of 2026. The current ten-year memorandum of understanding expires in 2028.

According to a roundup by Foreign Exchanges, citing France 24 and The Intercept, analysts point out that part of the funds could be shifted into the US defense budget, through joint programs such as missile defense, rather than being cut entirely.

Netanyahu's idea

Ending the aid is not Trump's invention. Netanyahu said as early as January 2026 that he wants Israel to stop depending on US military aid within the next ten years, and later, according to the Washington Examiner, proposed achieving this within the term of the current Congress. According to the same source, some Republicans in the Senate welcomed the idea.

For Israel, the issue is both political and practical. US aid finances a significant share of weapons procurement, but it is also tied to American industry and subject to political conditions. The announcement comes after elections in which the Democrats won both chambers of Congress, which decides on the budget from January 2027.

Details of the agreement have not been published, and the Israeli side had not officially confirmed them at the time of publication.