Trump says $4 billion a year in US military aid to Israel ends in 2026

US President Donald Trump said in a telephone interview with Fox News that Washington will stop giving Israel its annual military aid of $4 billion once the current year ends, and that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to this months ago. The Times of Israel reported that Trump described Israel as a very successful country that does not need the money, and quoted him saying the US would still "help Israel if they need it."

Trump, who referred to Netanyahu by his nickname Bibi, said Israel was content with the arrangement. According to a second Times of Israel report, he also said it was Netanyahu who first raised the idea, and that ending the aid would deny critics a line of attack about Israel receiving more American money than any other country. In that part of the interview Trump named a critic, El-Sayed, and called the criticism "a bad talking point."

What the aid is and how it is structured

American military assistance to Israel is set out in a memorandum of understanding, a 10-year framework agreed between the two governments. No other country receives as large a share of American military assistance, The Times of Israel noted, but the memorandum requires most of the money to be spent on weapons made in the United States. That condition means a large share of the funds flows back to American defence manufacturers.

The timing Trump gave does not match the existing agreement. Ynet reported that the current package was due to expire in 2028, and The Times of Israel said it is not set to lapse until the fall of 2028. The Times of Israel went further, describing Trump's declaration as appearing almost certainly to be false.

Where the accounts diverge

The reports differ on several points. On when the supposed deal was made, most outlets, including Israel Hayom and the Hebrew-language account of political commentator Amit Segal, relayed Trump as saying it was reached months ago. The Telegram channel Abu Ali Express rendered his words as a month ago.

On the substance of what Netanyahu proposed, The Times of Israel reported that the prime minister has previously said he suggested phasing out the aid gradually, not cutting it off at once. Trump's account in the interview was that the payments would simply stop at the end of this year.

On the Israeli side, Ynet reported that officials at Israel's Finance Ministry, which manages the state budget, were surprised by the president's remarks, and the outlet openly questioned whether Trump was being accurate. News.co.il noted that no official confirmation of the move had been published.

How the statement was reported

The remarks spread quickly across Israeli media. Haaretz reported that Trump said the payments would end by the end of the year under an agreement with Netanyahu reached months ago. The Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom carried the same core claim. Joe Truzman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank, posted a transcript of the relevant passage in which Trump called the aid "a wasted thing" given the agreement he described.

The interview came as Trump was campaigning in the US; The Times of Israel published a photograph of him at a campaign rally in Salina, Kansas, on November 1, 2026.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports carries a response from Netanyahu or his office to Trump's specific claim that aid will end this year. No outlet cites a written agreement, a US government document or a congressional step that would end the memorandum early, and it is not reported what, if anything, would replace the funding before 2028. The Finance Ministry's surprise is reported by Ynet alone, without an official statement from the ministry.