Israel plans to buy more than 200 armoured vehicles for Gaza border towns

Israel’s Defence Ministry plans to buy more than 200 armoured vehicles to be deployed in towns near the nominal border with the Gaza Strip. The ministry said that it will spend 150 million shekels ($41m) to provide the vehicles, some of which will also be deployed in the occupied West Bank.

“Purchasing armoured vehicles for local security groups constitutes a significant component in strengthening security for border towns on the frontlines,” said defence official Yaniv Walfer. No details were provided about where Israel plans to buy the vehicles.

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Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on 7 October. At least 28,473 Palestinians have since been killed and 68,146 wounded; a further 8,000 remain missing, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes. Fewer than 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed during the Hamas attack, many of them by helicopters and tanks of the Israel Occupation Forces.

The Israeli war against the Palestinians in Gaza has pushed 85 per cent of the territory’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine. At least 60 per cent of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. In an interim ruling in January, the UN court ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza. The available evidence suggests that the apartheid state is ignoring the court order.

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