WASHINGTON (Reuters) — US President Donald Trump’s administration has bypassed US Congress using an emergency authority to expedite the sale of more than 20,000 bombs to Israel worth around $650 million, two US officials familiar with the sale said.

In a late Friday statement, the US State Department said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that an emergency existed that required an immediate sale to Israel and waived the congressional review requirements for the sale.

The weapons package, which included 12,000 BLU-110A/B general purpose 1,000-pound bomb bodies that Israel had requested, comes a week after the United States and Israel began their joint air war against Iran, Washington’s biggest military operation since the 2003 Iraq invasion.

The operation, which the US said was focusing on destroying Iran’s offensive missiles, missile production and navy, has brought the region on the brink of a wider war as Tehran retaliated with its own attacks on Israel and regional countries with US bases.

“This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States,” the Department said in its statement, adding that the principal contractor will be Repkon USA, located in Texas.

On Saturday, a State Department official provided additional details about the sale, saying it also included BLU-111 500-pound general purpose bombs, which was an amendment to a previous sale. The official added that Israel will purchase an extra $298 million worth of critical munitions via direct commercial sales.

The United Nations in a December 2024 report said the Israeli military had likely used these heavy weapons and munitions in densely-populated Gaza, where the Israeli campaign against Hamas killed tens of thousands, many of them civilians.

Democratic US Representative Gregory Meeks said Rubio’s decision to use emergency authority to bypass congressional review showed a lack of preparation for the war with Iran.

“The Trump administration has repeatedly insisted it was fully prepared for this war. Rushing to invoke emergency authority to circumvent Congress tells a different story. This is an emergency of the Trump administration’s own creation,” Meeks said in a statement.

Washington has maintained strong support for Israel under President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden during the more than two years of Israeli wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

The Trump administration has also previously made military sales to Israel by skipping congressional reviews, as did the Biden administration when it was in power.

Washington’s military support has faced scrutiny from rights experts, particularly during Israel’s campaign in Gaza. Israel calls its actions self-defense after Hamas-led terrorists killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in the October 2023 attack.

It insists it does not target civilians and takes steps to mitigate harm to them, while accusing terror groups of using civilians as human shields.

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