Who supplies the weapons used by Israel in the war in the Middle East?

The United States has warned Israel that it may stop supplying weapons to the country if the humanitarian situation in Gaza improves.

This is not the first time that Israel’s main ally has threatened to cut off supplies. In May, US President Joe Biden said he would halt some arms shipments to Israel if an invasion of the southern city of Rafah took place. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued with the campaign – and the flow of US weapons continued.

However, the latest warning, which says Israel has 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation there, or risk violating US laws governing foreign military assistance, is a significant increase in pressure, suggesting that aid US military may be at risk.

While other countries drastically reduced their military aid to Israel last year, the United States did not.

Here is a breakdown of who supplies Israel with weapons.

United States

The United States is by far the largest supplier of weapons to Israel.

In 2023, 69% of Israel’s arms imports came from the US, according to a report on international arms transfers by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Germany was the second largest, providing 30%, followed by Italy with 0.9%. The United Kingdom, France and Spain were among other smaller contributors.

Weapons imported from the US “played an important role in Israel’s military actions against Hamas and Hezbollah,” the think tank reported, noting that in late 2023, thousands of guided bombs and missiles were delivered from the US to Israel.

The F-35 and F-15 fighter jets were also delivered to Israel by the US in January 2024.


North American F-35 fighter

The analysis of the CNN identified several instances in which US-made munitions were used during the war, including in attacks that killed civilians. Recently, the CNN found that 900 kg US-made bombs were likely used in the Israeli attack that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.

The U.S. also provides financial assistance to Israel, delivering more than $130 billion in bilateral financing since 1948, according to the U.S. State Department.

In 2019, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding that guaranteed the US would annually provide Israel with $3.3 billion from the Foreign Military Financing program and another $500 million for missile defense.

Germany

While in 2023 Germany contributed 30% of Israel’s weapons, this supply was significantly reduced throughout 2024.

Earlier this year, the International Court of Justice rejected a request from Nicaragua to order Germany to stop providing military aid to Israel.

One of the main reasons was that German military aid to the country fell from approximately €200 million in October 2023 to €1 million at the time of the trial in March.

But on October 10, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the country had not stopped supplying weapons to Israel, noting that Germany “(has) supplied weapons and we will supply weapons.”


He added that the weapons will be delivered to Israel “in the near future.”

Israeli security has historically been a central element of German foreign policy due to the Nazi Holocaust against Jews during World War II.

Italy

Italy has supplied helicopters and weapons to Israel, according to SIPRI, and is a partner in the F-35 fighter program, helping to manufacture parts.

However, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told local media in late January that Italy had stopped sending weapons to Israel since October 7 last year.

Any agreements signed before then were still being honored, SIPRI said.

Pagella Politica, an Italian monitoring organization, said Italian companies sold weapons worth almost $129 million to Israel in the decade to 2022.

United Kingdom

The British government says its “exports of military goods to Israel are low” and says it has granted licenses valued at $23.42 million in 2023.

However, the UK suspended some licenses to Israel for military equipment last year.

Foreign Minister David Lammy suspended around 30 of the 350 licenses for Israel when the Labor government came to power in July, with an official assessment finding there was a clear risk that the weapons could be used “to commit or facilitate a violation of international humanitarian law”.

The suspensions impacted the supply of some parts for drones and F-35 fighter jets. However, the UK government has not suspended the supply of material not used in the Israel-Hamas conflict – for example, for training purposes.

Spain

In February, Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation issued a press release noting that the government had not issued any arms sales to Israel since October 7 last year.

On October 11, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez condemned what he described as an “unacceptable” Israeli offensive in Lebanon and urged the international community to halt arms exports to Israel.

“We are emphasizing the urgency of the Israeli government to cease its hostilities, which are violating international law by invading a third country, in this case Lebanon, as well as International Humanitarian Law, as has been questioned even by the International Court of Justice,” he said.

France

Although France has historically supplied weapons to Israel, in recent weeks the relationship between the two countries has become strained when French President Emmanuel Macron called for an end to arms exports to Israel to try to push for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.

On October 5, Macron called for a complete suspension of the sale of weapons “used in the war in Gaza” and emphasized that France was not involved in their supply.

According to SIPRI, its data shows no French exports of major weapons to Israel from 2019 to 2023, but it does note that France has supplied weapons components.

*CNN’s Mia Alberti, Christian Edwards and Inke Kappeler contributed to this report.

This content was originally published in Who supplies the weapons used by Israel in the war in the Middle East? on the CNN Brasil website.

Source: CNN Brasil

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