Since 7 October 2023, several countries such as Italy, Japan, Spain, Canada, Colombia, the Netherlands and Belgium have ceased the sale of weapons to Israel. Key United States allies such as Britain have debated it. However, the US, as the major supplier of Israel's arms imports, keeps supplying weapons in spite of growing international condemnation of the mounting civilian casualties.

Campaign groups and some Western politicians insist that arms sales to Israel must stop because civilians have been killed during the Gaza war, Israeli atrocities and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and the Gaza genocide.

Background Israel is a major exporter of weapons, but its military has been heavily reliant on imported aircraft, guided bombs, and missiles to execute an aerial campaign that is considered one of the most intense and damaging in recent history by experts. The US is a major arms supplier to its closest Middle Eastern ally, and Germany is second. The bulk of Israel's military needs have been supplied by the United States, including bombs that weigh 2,000 pounds and can blow up bunkers. An additional $14 billion in military aid package for Israel was approved by the United States Congress in 2024.

Israel is being pressured by the international legal community for its war in Gaza, due to the dire humanitarian consequences that civilians face, and allegations that Israel's conduct is genocidal. Israel's prime minister may face arrest warrants for war crimes charges after the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor made announcing it in June 2024. Israel also was ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in late January 2024 to take interim steps to prevent acts of genocide and to enable more aid to reach the Gaza Strip, but the orders have been ignored by the Israeli government. An advisory opinion was issued by the highest court of the United Nations on 19 July 2024, saying Israel is not allowed to occupy the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem: "The Court has finally reaffirmed a principle that seemed unclear, even to the United Nations: Freedom from foreign military occupation, racial segregation and apartheid is absolutely non-negotiable." Soldiers involved in suspected war crimes have been actively supported by extremists, such as Itamar Ben-Gvir, the former national security minister.

Pressure on Israel's allies to cease arms deliveries increased following the attack on a convoy of World Central Kitchen in Gaza in early April 2024 that killed seven aid workers.

Israel's main arms suppliers

Sixty-nine percent of Israel's total arms purchases come from US firms, with 30 percent coming from Germany and 0.9 percent coming from Italy. Defense imports from other countries make up 0.1% of the country's total. Israel has been supplied with most of its defense equipment that includes bombs that weigh 2,000 pounds by the United States.

In 2023, Germany's military exports were almost ten times higher than in 2022 after it extended sales to Israel in November 2023. Human Rights Watch reported that since 2015, the United Kingdom has given Israel military export licenses worth at least 474 million pounds ($594 million), tanks, ammunition, and components for the F-35 stealth strike fighter that was used in Gaza.

Arms embargoes

In its interim ruling in South Africa's genocide case against Israel issued on 26 January 2024, the ICJ found that it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered it to take all necessary actions to prevent acts that may constitute genocide towards Palestinians. This has prompted humanitarian organizations worldwide to press their governments to halt the trade of weapons and military assistance. Canada, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan suspended arms sales as a result. A number of other nations have stated that they will stop buying Israeli weapons. In spite of the significant human loss and the Gaza Strip famine, a number of Western countries have continued to provide Israel with lethal weapons.

Australia Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong stated that the country has not given weapons to Israel since the start of the Gaza war. However, the defence spokesman for the Australian Greens party, David Shoebridge, has requested that the government be more transparent about the specific items that were exported to Israel, adding that the country has a system for exporting weapons that is one of the most secretive in the world. Amnesty International has urged Australia to halt the sale of arms to Israel and asserts that the country has granted approval for 322 defense exports to Israel for the past six years.

Belgium In February 2024 following the ICJ ruling, local authorities in Belgium's Wallonia region reported suspending licenses for exporting munitions to Israel.

Canada Due to the military campaign in Gaza, Canada halted arms sales to Israel in March 2024, following a vote in the Canadian House of Commons that made reference to the ICJ's ruling. The pledge does not pertain to military export permits that were authorized before 8 January 2024. Israel Katz, the foreign minister of Israel, stated that "History will judge Canada's current action harshly", in response to Canada as one of the countries imposing sanctions against Israel. However, in August 2024, a batch of weapons for Israel approved by the United States government that month, worth US$20 billion, included a contract for munitions made by General Dynamics in Quebec.

Denmark Denmark is currently dealing with a court case that may result in the government suspending exporting F-35 fighter jet components to the US, because Israel is the destination for the finished jets.

France On 5 October 2024, President Emmanuel Macron called for a halt to arms deliveries to Israel, saying, "the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza," that avoiding an escalation in Lebanon was a "priority" and that "Lebanon cannot become a new Gaza", provoking an indignant diplomatic response from Benjamin Netanyahu. France is not a major arms supplier to Israel, but it is a key member of the European Union and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Germany

At the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, Germany gave Israel weapons worth 326 million euros, which was a tenfold increase compared to 2022. However, according to data provided by the Ministry of Economy in response to a parliamentary question, approvals have fallen in 2024, with only 14.5 million euros granted between January and 21 August. Of these, the war weapons category was only 32,449 euros. Israel's Shomrim Research Network confirmed this decrease. The German spokesman of the Ministry of Economy told the dpa news agency that there is no ban on the export of weapons to Israel, saying Germany makes decisions on arms exports on a case-by-case basis, taking into account humanitarian law. Germany is experiencing tension due to the Chancellery's support for Israel while the Greens-led economy and foreign ministries are increasingly expressing their criticism of the Netanyahu administration. Alexander Schwarz, an attorney at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, which has filed five suits against Berlin, said that the significant drop in approvals for 2024 reflects a real, albeit possibly temporary, reluctance to supply arms to Israel.

In October 2024, the European Legal Support Center filed a petition in German court requesting that a 150-metric-ton shipment of military-grade explosives be blocked from being sent from Germany to Israel, as they could potentially be used for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

In August 2025, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said "the German government will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice". Friedrich Merz cited Israel's plan to seize Gaza City as the reason for the decision.

Following the "Gaza peace plan", Germany announced it would lift its restrictions.

Hague Group During the Bogotá summit convened by the Hague Group in July 2025, 12 of the countries with representatives present (Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and South Africa) agreed to six measures aimed at stopping the Gaza genocide. The measures included stopping munitions, arms, fuel, military equipment, and dual-use technology from being sent or given to Israel; stopping ships that are at a high risk of being used to bring munitions, arms, fuel, military equipment, and dual-use technology to Israel from transiting, docking, or being maintained at ports; and stopping munitions, arms, fuel, military equipment, and dual-use technology from being sent to Israel on ships bearing the flags of the states that agree to the measure. Shortly after, Bogotá summit participant Turkey formally joined the other 12 countries in adopting the measures.

Italy According to SIPRI, Italy is among Israel's top three armaments suppliers, along with the US and Germany, making up 1% of Israel's arms imports from 2019 to 2023. The sale of arms and ammunition to Israel amounted to €13.7 million last year, according to the magazine Altreconomia, which cited the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). Italy's government offered assurances that it was honoring previous contracts and reviewed sales on a case-by-case basis in order to adhere to a law prohibiting sales of munitions to countries at war, or those accused of human rights violations. In October 2024, the Italian government announced that it had suspended all shipments of military equipment to Israel.

Japan Following the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Japan suspended arms sales to Israel. The Japanese company Itochu Corporation announced in February 2024 that its partnership with Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer, would end by the end of February.

Netherlands In 2024, the Netherlands ended arms shipments to Israel because of the fear that they may be used in violations of international humanitarian law by killing civilians and destroying residential areas in Gaza. In February 2024, a Dutch court imposed a ban on the Netherlands government from delivering parts for the F-35 fighter aircraft to Israel. This ruling was later partly vacated in cassation, but the state has not announced any intention to resume exports . A Dutch ship was reported to have allegedly delivered weapons to the Israeli port of Haifa in the week of 16 March 2026.

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