Israel's arms supplier countries

Although Israel is one of the world's major exporters of military equipment, its military relies heavily on imported aircraft, guided bombs, and missiles to carry out what experts have defined as one of the most intense and destructive airstrikes in recent history.

Israel

Main article: Defense industry of Israel

Israel's defense industry is a strategically important sector, a major employer, and a main supplier of the Israeli Defense Forces. There are more than 150 active defense companies based in Israel with a combined annual revenue of over $3.5 billion.

US

main article United States support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war Since its founding, Israel has received approximately $310 billion (inflation-adjusted) in total economic and military aid from the United States, making it the largest cumulative recipient of US foreign aid.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report, the United States is the main supplier of armaments to Israel, accounting for 69% of Israel's major conventional arms imports between 2019 and 2023.

The United States provides annually to Israel with about $3.8 billion in military aid annually. Israel has been the largest recipient of US financial support to foreign aid since World War II, receiving a cumulative $158 billion through 2023 at current inflation-adjusted prices.

On 2016, the United States and Israel signed their third 10-year Memorandum of Understanding on military aid by undertaking $38 billion through 2028, including $33 billion in foreign military aid, plus $5 billion for missile defense, as part of a record. Israel used this aid to finance orders for 75 F-35 joint strike fighters, and stealth aircraft, It has used missile defense programs, including the jointly developed Iron Dome, Arrow, and David's Sling systems. the US sends to Israel Iron Dome air-defense missiles, small-diameter bombs, and JDAM kits which convert unguided bombs into GPS-guided weapons, advanced weaponry such as CH-53 heavy-lift helicopters, and KC-46 aerial refueling tankers.

laser-guided missiles for its Apache gunship fleet, as well as 155mm shells, night-vision devices, bunker-buster munitions and new army vehicles. The United States also provides high-level military consultancy to Israel.

Germany

According to the SIPRI, Germany is one of the main suppliers of armaments to Israel, accounting for 30% of Israel's arms imports between 2019 and 2023. According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development ( BMZ ) report, Germany's defense exports to Israel worth about $353 million have so far increased almost 10 times from last year. the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported, that Germany supplies components of air defense systems and communication equipment to Israel. The arms exported included 3,000 portable anti-tank weapons and 500,000 rounds of ammunition for automatic or semi-automatic firearms. Most of the export licenses were granted for land vehicles and technology for the development, assembly, maintenance, and repair of weapons.

Italy

According to the SIPRI, Italy is one of Israel's three biggest armaments suppliers along with the US and Germany, accounting for 1% of Israel's arms imports between 2019 and 2023. Citing to Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), despite the government's assurances that they are under a law that bans the sale of arms to countries that are at war or are believed to be violating human rights, the sale of "arms and ammunition" reached $14.8 million last year. Italy's exports include helicopters and naval artillery.

UK

The total value of UK exports to Israel is unclear. In 2022, UK-approved arms export licenses to Israel were worth $52.5 million, but 10 "open" licenses were also issued with an unlimited value, the actual value of the export is unclear. Between the October 7 attack by Hamas and May 31, according to government statistics, Britain issued more than 108 arms export licenses to Israel. The non-profit group Campaign Against Arms Trade has calculated that £574 million worth of arms export licenses have been granted to Israel since 2008, but this figure does not account for the value of open licenses. In December 2023, Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and the UK-based Global Legal Action Network launched a legal challenge over the UK's role in arms sales to Israel, calling on the UK to stop granting licenses for arms exports to Israel, after their written requests to suspend arms sales after the 7 October attack were ignored. Later, Britain's two premier human rights organizations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch joined the campaign. Calls for an end to arms sales to Israel heightened after three British citizens were killed in World Central Kitchen aid convoy attack by Israel in central Gaza. According to the Campaign Against Arms Trade, BAE Systems, the largest defense contractor in Europe and the seventh-largest in the world, provides about 15% of the components of the F-35 stealth combat aircraft used by Israel that were used in the recent bombing of Gaza.

Canada

Trudeau admitted in late January that Canada had authorized military exports to Israel after the 7 October war. According to Al Jazeera, the Trudeau government approved at least $21 million in new licenses for military exports to Israel in the early months of the war. Some of the products sold include bombs, torpedoes, rockets, other explosive devices and charges, and related equipment and accessories. On 5 March 2023, Human rights and pro-Palestinian advocates in Canada filed a lawsuit against the federal government to block companies from allowing them to export military goods and technology to Israel.

See also

• Israeli Americans
• Israel Weapon Industries
• Military equipment of Israel