Adds details on the packages, background on the war and ceasefire

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of nearly $3 billion worth of bombs, demolition kits and other weaponry to Israel, the Pentagon said in statements on Friday.

The prospective weapons sales were notified to Congress on Friday afternoon on an emergency basis.

That process sidesteps a long-standing practice of giving the chairs and ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees the opportunity to review the sale and ask for more information before making a formal notification to Congress.

The sales included 35,529 general-purpose bomb bodies for 2,000-pound bombs and 4,000 bunker-busting 2,000-pound bombs made by General Dynamics GD.N. While the Pentagon said that deliveries would begin in 2026, it also said "there is a possibility that a portion of this procurement will come from U.S. stock" which could mean immediate delivery for some of the weapons.

A second package, valued at $675 million, consisted of five thousand 1,000-pound bombs and corresponding kits to help guide the "dumb" bombs. Delivery for this package was estimated to be in 2028.

A third notification consisted of $295 million worth of Caterpillar CAT.N D9 bulldozers.

Friday's announcements marked the second time this month the Trump administration has declared an emergency to quickly approve weapons sales to Israel. The Biden administration also utilized emergency authorities to approve the sale of arms to Israel without congressional review.

On Monday, the Trump administration rescinded a Biden-era order that required it to report potential violations of international law involving U.S.-supplied weapons by allies, including Israel. It has eliminated most U.S. humanitarian foreign aid.

A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas last month halted 15 months of fighting and paved the way for talks on ending the war, while also leading to the release of 44 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel.

However, Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire, casting doubt over the second phase of the deal meant to include releases of additional hostages and prisoners as well as steps toward a permanent end of the war.

(Reporting by Mike Stone; Additional reporting by Reade Levinson, Patricia Zengerle and Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Ismail Shakil and Rosalba O'Brien)