Trump Says U.S. Military Aid to Israel Will End by Year’s End

Trump announces aid shift

November 3, 2026 · 11:45 a.m. Central

President Donald Trump says the United States will end roughly $4 billion in annual military aid to Israel by the end of 2026, a proposed shift in a security relationship that has relied on American assistance for decades.

Trump made the announcement Tuesday in a phone interview with Fox & Friends. He said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reached an agreement months ago and that Netanyahu had raised the idea. Israel would still be able to buy American weapons, the president said.

The announcement is not itself evidence that the funding has already stopped. Trump did not spell out how the change would be carried out or identify every program it would affect, ABC News reported.

The current aid framework

The existing 10-year U.S.–Israel memorandum, signed in 2016, covers fiscal years 2019 through 2028. It contemplated $38 billion in military assistance, subject to congressional appropriations: $33 billion in foreign military financing and $5 billion for missile defense, according to a White House fact sheet issued when it was signed and the Congressional Research Service.

That works out to about $3.8 billion a year under the framework. Congress has also appropriated other assistance outside it. An aid commitment, an appropriation and a paid arms sale are different things; Trump’s statement leaves questions about which funding streams would change and what Congress would do.

What both leaders have said

Trump said Netanyahu considered Israel prosperous enough to move away from the assistance and linked the issue to criticism in U.S. politics. The announcement came on the day Americans voted in the midterm elections.

Netanyahu has previously spoken about reducing Israel’s reliance on U.S. military aid. But he had discussed a gradual transition over a longer period, The Times of Israel reported. Trump’s account of a deal does not by itself establish the terms of any agreement, and this report has not verified a detailed written agreement or a new Israeli government statement confirming the timetable.

The Associated Press reported that Trump said arms sales would continue. Whether missile-defense cooperation or other forms of U.S. assistance would be affected remains to be clarified.

Key dates

September 14, 2016 — The U.S. and Israel signed a 10-year security-assistance memorandum, according to the White House fact sheet.
November 3, 2026 — Trump said on Fox News that the aid would end at the close of 2026.
Fiscal 2028 — The existing 10-year framework is scheduled to run through fiscal 2028, subject to appropriations, according to the Congressional Research Service.