Senate Must Block More Bombs to Israel
IMEU Policy Project Memo #29
BACKGROUND
On March 19, Sens. Bernie Sanders, Chris Van Hollen, Jeff Merkley, and Peter Welch introduced Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) (S.J.Res.136, S.J.Res.137, and S.J.Res.138) to block the Trump administration from sending Israel more bombs, which are being used in violation of US and international law, to enable the illegal US/Israeli war of aggression against Iran, along with Israel’s war of aggression against Lebanon and its ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
These JRDs would prevent the Trump administration from delivering 27,000 bombs to Israel valued at nearly $660 million–presumably paid for by US taxpayers–including:
$298 million for 5,000 250-pound small-diameter bombs
$209 million for 10,000 500-pound bombs
$151.8 million for 12,000 1,000-pound bombs
Senators should cosponsor and vote in favor of these JRDs as part of their legislative strategy not to fund and bring to an end the Trump administration’s illegal and unconstitutional war against Iran, undertaken in collusion with Israel.
Senators should also support these JRDs as part of their commitment to the rule of law and to hold Israel accountable for violating US laws that are supposed to prevent US weapons from being used to commit human rights abuses and atrocities. American public opinion overwhelmingly supports this policy of ending weapons deliveries to Israel.
DETAILS
Opposing an Imperial Presidency
It is important to note that the Trump administration bypassed congressional oversight and the informal review process to expedite the delivery of these bombs to Israel–the fourth time the administration has done so since January 2025, demonstrating its ongoing contempt for congressional prerogatives.
The Trump administration’s willingness to circumvent Congress on these weapons deliveries to Israel must be seen in the broader context of its assertion of imperial presidential powers, most dramatically demonstrated by its launching, in collusion with Israel, an unprovoked and illegal war of aggression on Iran.
The Trump administration’s attack on Iran was initiated without Congress providing an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), a blatant violation of the constitution, which reposes in Congress the exclusive right to declare war.
Many Senators are opposed to the Trump administration’s illegal and unconstitutional attack on Iran, as evidenced by votes in support of War Powers Resolutions (WPRs) to terminate the US war on Iran, and by some already-stated opposition to a supplemental appropriation of up to $200 billion to finance this war.
Israel Is Using These Bombs in the Joint US/Israeli War on Iran
Senators must also support these JRDs to be consistent in their opposition to the US/Israeli war on Iran since these exact types of bombs are being used by Israel in its air strikes against Iran, including in the following examples:
A Bellingcat investigation published on March 3, 2026 identified US-made 1,000-pound bombs loaded onto Israeli planes in preparation for strikes in Iran.
Weapons expert Trevor Ball identified in a video posted March 5, 2026 an unexploded 1,000-pound bomb or 2,000-pound bomb reportedly found at a home in Tehran, which could have been dropped either by US or Israeli planes.
Since February 28, the US/Israeli war on Iran has killed more than 1,400 Iranians, and Israel has deliberately bombed Iranian civilian sites, including oil depots and gas fields, creating an environmental catastrophe.
Israel Is Using These Bombs in Its Aggression against Lebanon
These same types of bombs are also fueling Israeli atrocities against civilians in Lebanon who have been subjected to a separate, unilateral Israeli war of aggression since March 2, in which Israel has killed more than 1,000 people—including over 100 children—and forcibly displaced one of every five Lebanese civilians from their homes, threatening to do to Lebanon what it did to Gaza.
To date, Israel’s use of these types of bombs have been identified in the following examples:
In a video posted on March 11, 2026, weapons expert Trevor Ball identified an unexploded 250-pound small-diameter bomb being removed by the Lebanese armed forces following an Israeli strike in Beirut.
On March 13, Ball identified an unexploded 250-pound small-diameter bomb that the Lebanese army reportedly removed from an apartment.
On March 12, 2026, a Reuters photo captured a projectile falling from the sky during an Israeli strike in Beirut's Bachoura neighborhood. Ball identified the munition as a 1,000-pound bomb or 2,000-pound bomb.
Israel Is Using These Bombs in Its Ongoing Genocide of Palestinians in Gaza
These same types of weapons also have been repeatedly linked to Israeli atrocities committed against Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s genocidal violence since October 2023.
For details of these incidents, please see:
Congress Must Block the Bombs to Israel | IMEU Policy Project Policy Memo #20
Congress Must Block $8.7 Billion of Weapons to Israel | IMEU Policy Project Policy Memo #15
Israel has killed more than 75,000 Palestinians in Gaza, often with US weapons, since October 2023. These numbers reflect only confirmed direct fatalities of Israel’s violence and do not include either Palestinians missing and presumed dead or those killed indirectly by the genocidal conditions Israel created in Gaza.
It is also important to note that Israel continues to drop these same types of bombs on Palestinians in Gaza even after President Trump’s October 2025 20-point Gaza plan, the third point of which specifically was supposed to have suspended Israeli aerial attacks.
Trevor Ball identified the remnants of at least three US-made 250-pound small-diameter bombs in a January 8, 2026 attack on a residential building in Gaza City.
Open-source researcher Chris Osieck identified remnants of a 250-pound small-diameter bomb in the aftermath of an Israeli attack on a house in Deir al-Balah on January 16, 2026.
Osieck also identified fragments of a 250-pound small-diameter bomb in the aftermath of an attack on a shopping mall in southern Gaza just days after Trump’s Gaza plan went into effect on October 20, 2025.
In other words, a portion of the more than 600 Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza since then have likely died as a result of Israel bombing them with the same types of weapons specified in the JRDs.
US Law Prohibits the Delivery of Weapons to Israel
It is illegal for the US to continue to provide weapons to Israel for its wars of aggression in Iran and Lebanon, and for its ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The Arms Export Control Act limits the use of US weapons to internal security and legitimate self-defense. Countries that use US weapons to commit the types of atrocities that Israel is committing throughout the region are not eligible for more weapons.
And the Foreign Assistance Act prohibits the US from sending weapons to countries that engage in systematic patterns of gross human rights violations and that block US humanitarian aid, which Israel does.
Supporting these JRDs is the best mechanism which Congress has to ensure the rule of law and impose tangible consequences on Israel for violating US law. No country is above the law.
Public Opinion Opposes Delivering More Weapons to Israel
Not only is it illegal for the US to continue to deliver weapons to Israel. The American people in general, and Democrats in particular, oppose the US/Israeli war against Iran and want to end weapons deliveries to Israel.
A poll released by the IMEU Policy Project and Demand Progress on March 19 found that 56% of Americans believe the war against Iran benefits Israel more than it benefits America, while just 29% say America benefits more (67% of Democrats believe the war benefits Israel more, 19% of Democrats believe the war benefits America more).
And 53% of voters disapprove of Trump’s strikes against Iran, while 43% approve (82% of Democrats disapprove, 14% of Democrats approve).
An August 2025 poll by Quinnipiac University found that 50% of Americans believe that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, whereas only 35% disagree (77% of Democrats believe Israel is committing genocide, 11% disagree).
And 60% of Americans oppose sending more weapons to Israel, while only 32% support doing so (75% of Democrats oppose sending more weapons to Israel, while only 18% support doing so).
Conclusion
The case is clear: Israel is using US bombs to commit atrocities throughout the region against Iranian, Lebanese, and Palestinian civilians in violation of US law. The majority of all Americans and the vast majority of all Democrats oppose the US/Israeli war on Iran, and oppose sending Israel more weapons to inflict genocide on Palestinains in Gaza.
These JRDs are one key legislative strategy–including support for WPRs and opposition to supplemental appropriations requests–to end the illegal US/Israeli war against Iran, to hold Israel accountable for its violations of US law, and to respond to overwhelming constituent support for ending the delivery of weapons to Israel.
Cover Photo: Christopher Penler, via Shutterstock. Stock Photo ID: 2644450863