U.S. taxpayers spent $34 billion on Israel's wars despite 60% of Americans opposing arms shipments
By isabelle // 2025-10-10
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  • U.S. taxpayers have subsidized nearly $34 billion for Israel's military campaign.
  • This funding provided direct military aid and paid for related U.S. operations.
  • A majority of Americans now oppose sending arms to Israel.
  • This spending has enabled a war with a devastating human toll in Gaza.
  • The report questions why this money isn't spent on American priorities.
You have likely felt the pinch at the grocery store and watched your savings shrink, all while being told there is no money for American priorities. Meanwhile, a new report has uncovered that your tax dollars have been funneled into a foreign war to the staggering tune of nearly $34 billion. A study from Brown University reveals the colossal financial commitment the United States has made to support Israel’s military campaigns over the past two years, a sum that amounts to a $3,400 subsidy for every Israeli citizen since October 7, 2023. This hefty price tag, detailed in the university’s ongoing Costs of War project, provides a sobering look at where American resources are being directed. The report, published on the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks, breaks down the total into direct military aid and the cost of related U.S. military operations across the Middle East. This spending has proceeded even as a growing majority of Americans voice their opposition to funding foreign conflicts.

Breaking down the aid

The analysis found that the U.S. provided a massive $21.7 billion in direct military assistance to Israel. This funding has equipped the Israeli military with the tools of war. According to the report, "Israel’s entire inventory of combat capable aircraft comes from the U.S., including 75 F-15s, 196 F-16s, and 39 F-35s." Its attack helicopters and transport helicopters are also entirely U.S.-made. This military support goes beyond just aircraft. The U.S. has supplied tens of thousands of bombs and missiles, along with advanced targeting systems. The Brown report states these U.S.-supplied weapons "have inflicted a devastating humanitarian toll on the people of Gaza." This arsenal has been central to a military campaign that the United Nations and numerous human rights experts have recognized as a genocide.

The wider regional cost

Beyond the direct aid to Israel, the report calculated that the U.S. spent an additional $12 billion on its own military operations sparked by the conflict. This includes extensive campaigns in Yemen and a significant attack on Iran. "This spending includes the costs of the U.S. military maintaining two carrier strike groups in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, launching over 1,000 air strikes, and employing costly missile systems to counter low-cost drone attacks by the Houthi militant group," the report said. It also detailed the high cost of Operation Midnight Hammer in Iran, which "marked the first-ever combat use of 30,000-pound ‘bunker buster’ bombs dropped by US B-2 stealth bombers." These operations, while conducted by U.S. forces, were undertaken in support of or as a direct consequence of Israeli military strategy, further entangling American resources and personnel.

A conflict with declining public support

This enormous financial outlay is occurring against a backdrop of rapidly declining American public support for such involvement. Pollsters at Quinnipiac University found in August that 60 percent of Americans are opposed to the U.S. sending arms to Israel. This sentiment crosses party lines, with anger growing among Democrats, Independents, and young Republicans who are increasingly questioning why their tax dollars are funding foreign wars. Social media commentary highlighted this frustration, with one user noting, “A family of 4 in Israel is receiving $577/month in subsidies, courtesy of the American taxpayer, for 2 years now.” The post added, “Israelis still have free healthcare and free college and subsidized childcare. They haven’t reduced any of their social welfare programs. Meanwhile Americans are literally paying for groceries with their credit cards.”

The human toll of the spending

The financial cost, however, pales in comparison to the human suffering it has enabled. The companion reports from the Costs of War project detail a catastrophic humanitarian situation. More than ten percent of the population of Gaza has been killed or injured, while at least 5.27 million people have been displaced in Gaza and the wider region. This mass displacement and loss of life is a direct consequence of a war powered by American weaponry and taxpayer money. It is a reminder that the true cost of war is not measured in dollars but in human lives, families shattered, and generations displaced. The reports make it clear that without this level of U.S. assistance, Israel would not have been able to sustain its concerted military campaign. The policies being funded are not those of the Israeli people, but of their government, a distinction often lost in the rhetoric. So the next time you wonder why your community lacks funding or why your national debt continues to soar, consider the nearly $34 billion sent abroad to fund a conflict that a majority of your fellow citizens oppose. It is a powerful example of how the priorities in Washington D.C. have become divorced from the will and the welfare of the American people, who are left to foot the bill for a genocide they do not support. Sources for this article include: MiddleEastEye.net CostsOfWar.Watson.Brown.edu APNews.com
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