US Israel military aid would rise under House defense bill
House NDAA would put $750m into Israel-related military programs as scrutiny grows over Washington’s support during the Gaza war.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
US Israel military aid would increase under a defence policy bill narrowly passed by the House of Representatives, Al Jazeera reported. The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2027 includes $750m for Israel-related military programmes, $65m above the previous year, as US debate continues over support for Israel during the war in Gaza.
The bill is not law. Al Jazeera reported that it now goes to the Senate, where its outlook is unclear after Senate Democrats blocked that chamber’s version earlier in July; both chambers must approve a measure before it can be sent to the president.
How much US Israel military aid is in the 2027 defence bill?
According to Al Jazeera, the House version would direct $500m to missile defence, including systems such as Iron Dome. The remaining $250m would fund other capabilities: $100m for counter-drone systems, $100m for subterranean operations such as tunnel-mapping technology, and $50m for emerging defence technologies, including artificial intelligence-driven and autonomous systems.
The NDAA is Congress’s annual defence policy bill, setting military priorities and authorising programmes for the fiscal year. It does not become final until the House and Senate agree on legislation and the president signs it.
Al Jazeera reported that pro-Israel groups including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee praised the House funding. The Council on American-Islamic Relations criticised continued US military assistance, saying it could contribute to Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
US support for Israel has long covered both interceptors and broader military equipment, according to Al Jazeera. A 2020 Congressional Research Service report said Iron Dome, which became fully operational in 2011, had intercepted nearly 90 percent of rockets judged to threaten populated areas during conflicts.
How US support has grown since October 2023
For fiscal 2026, the United States approved $500m for Israeli military programmes, including missile defence systems such as Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow, as well as drone technology, emerging technologies and anti-tunnelling cooperation, according to Al Jazeera.
Brown University’s Costs of War Project estimated in a 2025 analysis that the US provided about $21bn in military assistance to Israel from October 2023 through September 2025. Al Jazeera also noted a 2016 US-Israel memorandum of understanding covering fiscal years 2019 to 2028, committing $33bn for Foreign Military Financing and $5bn for missile defence.
The private sector has also benefited from Israel-related defence spending, according to the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organisation. Its tracker identified 57 companies with financial links to Israel’s military supply chain or defence-related spending, including RTX, Boeing, Palantir, Toyota, General Motors and Amazon.
Palantir has supplied artificial intelligence and data-analysis technology to Israel’s Ministry of Defence since October 7, 2023, Al Jazeera reported, but has not disclosed the value of those contracts or specified how the technology was used. Al Jazeera reported that Palestinian fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel that day, and that more than 73,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since.
Brown University’s analysis found that Israel’s combat-capable air fleet depends heavily on US-made aircraft, including Boeing F-15s and Lockheed Martin F-16s and F-35s. A congressional report cited by Al Jazeera listed Boeing sales between 2023 and 2025 of $18.8bn in F-15 aircraft and $2.4bn in KC-46A refuelling aircraft, followed by another $8.6bn F-15 order in December 2025.
The same congressional reporting cited by Al Jazeera said Lockheed Martin sold $3.4bn in helicopters and $660m in Hellfire missiles, while RTX had $102.5m in sales by 2025 for missile systems and components used in platforms including Iron Dome.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.