SecurityAssistanceMonitorSpecialReport–August7,2025: ArmingIsrael’sAtrocitiesinGaza
AriTolanyandAllieHansen
As Israel’s largest supplier of weapons, the United States has provided and paid for much of the munitions and small arms used to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
Exportdatashowsover$4billioninarmstransferredtoIsraelsinceOctober2023
BetweenOctober2023andMay2025,theUnitedStatesreportedtheexportofnearly42billiondollars ($4,169,960,00)worthofmilitarygoodstoIsrael 1 Thisfigureincludesweaponsandmunitionspaidfor byForeignMilitaryFinancing(FMF)–thatis,bytheUnitedStates,aswellassalesdirectlytoIsraeli purchasers,includingtheGovernmentofIsrael TheUnitedStatesprovidesIsraelwith$33billion annuallyinFMF,aswellas$500millionformissiledefense.
ThisshouldbeunderstoodasonlyapartialsnapshotofUS aidtoIsrael Thefigureonlycaptures weapons exported fromtheUnitedStatesduringthistimeframe,butdoesnotincludeanythathavebeen authorizedandnotyetdelivered AsofApril2025,theStateDepartment’sBureauofPoliticalMilitary Affairsreportedtherewere751activeForeignMilitarySalescaseswithIsrael,valuedat392billion USD.Moredetailedinformationaboutwhatwassentisavailableintheappendix.Italsolikelydoesnot includesomeweaponstransferredthroughtheExcessDefenseArticlesservice,norweaponswithdrawn fromtheWarStockpilesReserve-Israel.TheweaponsIsraelpurchasesthroughoffshoreprocurement, usingU.S.taxpayerdollarstobuyarmsfromIsraelicompaniesarealsonotcaptured.
1 ThisdatawascollectedfromtheAutomatedExportSystem(AES),asystemthatelectronicallyharmonizesand reportsgoodsexportedfromUS ports Seehttps://wwwcbpgov/trade/aes/introduction
TheU.Shasexportedover$2.3billionofbombs,mines,andammunitiontoIsraelduring itsongoinggenocideinPalestine.
Critically,theseexportsincludetheveryweaponsrepeatedlyimplicatedingrossviolationsof internationalhumanitarianlawinGaza SincetheHamas-ledattacksonOctober7,2023inwhich approximately1,200Israeliswerekilledand250takenhostageaccordingtoIsraeligovernmentfigures. IsraelhasusedU.S.madebombstotargetcivilianinfrastructure,schools,refugeecamps,andhospitals,in attacksthathumanrightsexpertshavecalledwarcrimesorcrimesagainsthumanity,includinggenocide
SinceOctober2023,theU.S.hasexportedover$416millionoffirearmsandrelated ammunitiontoIsraelusedtokillciviliansatGazaaidsitesandseizelandintheWestBank.
ShortlyafterIsraelbroketheceasefireinMarch2025byimposingatotalblockadeonallaidintoGaza,it resumedtheuseofUS-madebombsinitsmassciviliancasualtyattacksintheterritory Inthemonths since,Israeliforces–andpossiblyUS contractors–usedUS-suppliedfirearmsandammunitiontofireon crowdsofstarvingPalestinianseekingaidnearso-calledGazaHumanitarianFoundation(GHF)sites.The UNreportedthatover850civilianshavebeenkilledwhileseekingfoodatGHFaidsites
U.S.madegunshavealsobeenusedinIsrael’sescalatingatrocitiesandillegalseizureofPalestinianland intheWestBank SinceOctober7,2023,ArmedConflictLocation&EventData(ACLED)reportsa sharpincreaseinthenumberofgunsownedbysettlersandusedinattacksonPalestinians.Ministerof NationalSecurityItamarBen-Gvir,leaderofthefar-right‘JewishPower’partyandasettlerhimself,has expeditedtheprocessrequiredtogetafirearmlicenseandinMarchof2024celebratedauthorizing 100,000gunpermitssinceOctober2023.
DespiteamanufacturingboomintheIsraelidefenseindustry,asof2023,98%offirearmsinIsraelwere offoreignorigin,withthemajoritycomingfromtheUnitedStates.ArmedattacksbysettlersandIsraeli securityforces,anincreasinglymeaninglessdistinction,havereachedunprecedentedlevelsin2025
MethodologyandAppendix
Tocompilethisdata,theSecurityAssistanceMonitorusedthefollowingHarmonizedTariffSystem (HTS)codesandtheircorrespondingcategoriesofmunitionsexportedpermonthtocalculatetheoverall quantityofweaponsexported.Forclarity,allcategoriesarereportedexactlyastheyappearinAES, includingabbreviationsandtypos
Forthecategory“Bombs,Mines,andAmmunition,”HTScode930690wasused,whichincludesbombs, grenades,torpedoes,mines,missiles,munitionsofwar,andrelatedammunitionandprojectiles
Forthecategory“FirearmExports,”thefollowingHTScodeswereused:
930110-MilitaryArtilleryWeapons(eg,GunsHowitzerEtc)
930190-MilitaryWeapons,othThnRevol,pist,&hd9307,nesoi
930200-Revolvers&Pistols,DesignedToFireLiveAmmo
930400-ArmsNesoi,OtherThanSideArmsAndSimilarArms
930510-Pts&Accessories,ofPistolsOrRevolvers
930520-PartsAndAccessoriesOfShotguns/riflesHead9303
930591-Parts&Accessor.OfMilitaryWeaponsOfHead9301
930599-PartsandAcces OfArtic OfHed9303-9304,Nesoi
930621-ShotgunCartridges
930629-AirGunPelletsAndPartsOfShotgunCartridges
930630-CartridgesAndPartsThereof,Nesoi
Thislistincludesallexportsrelatedtogunsandammunition,whileexcludingcategoriesthatare explicitlyforsportingorhunting.Becausenotallcategoriesspecifyintendeduseandmanyfirearmscan beusedforarangeofactivities,theincludedexportslikelyincludeasmallamountofgunsusedfor recreation Theoverallsummedfigureincludesasmallquantityofarmswhichmaynothavea contemporarycombatfunction,liketheHTScode930700,“Swords,Cutlasses,Bayonets,&Similar Arms&Parts”Italsoincludesfireworksandvisionenhancingdevices,whichcanhavebothmilitaryand non-militaryfunctions.Conversely,thereareotherexports,includingvehicles,constructionequipment, andchemicalcompounds,whichcanhavebothcivilianandmilitarypurposes,whicharenotcapturedin thisdataset AllHTScodesandtheirsummedexportsareavailablebelow TheSecurityAssistance MonitorencouragesresearcherstouseSAMdata,aswellastheAutomatedExportSystem,toconduct theirownanalysisaroundtheexportofgoodsandservicesofinterest,includingthosethatmaybe dual-use
