Trump says US will end military aid to Israel by the end of this year

US president makes surprise election day announcement, saying country does not ‘need’ $4bn annual payment

Donald Trump has said that the US will end military aid to Israel at the end of this year in a surprise election day announcement that appeared to be targeted at voters sceptical of US support for Israel and the war in Gaza.

In a phone interview with Fox News as voting began on Tuesday morning, Trump said the US would cut nearly $4bn (£2.96bn) in military aid to Israel because “they don’t need it.”

“We were giving them $4bn … But it gets cut off at the end of the year,” he said.