Israel places $760m ammunition orders with Elbit Systems in 2023

The Israeli Ministry of Defence placed approximately $760 million worth of ammunition orders with the defence giant Elbit Systems throughout 2023, according to a company statement released yesterday.

Many of these orders, which were not detailed by Elbit Systems, are part of a surge in procurement deals from local companies following 7 October.

However, Israeli occupation forces had already started purchasing ammunition from Elbit Systems before the ongoing war, including a $60 million order for 155mm ammunition in August 2023. By November, the Ministry of Defence reported making thousands of purchases totaling $1.64 billion from local companies.

Although the $760 million in ammunition contracts were placed in 2023, Elbit Systems indicated that the orders will be completed over a two-year period.

“As previously reported by the Company, since the beginning of the Swords of Iron war [the Gaza conflict], Elbit Systems has experienced a material increased demand for its products and solutions from the Israel Ministry of Defense compared to the demand levels prior to the war,” the company said.

It added that future developments were “difficult to predict” but noted that the heightened demand for its products could lead to “generate material additional orders.”

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Moreover, the Israeli Ministry of Defence had requested a delay in the closure of an Elbit Systems factory in central Israel due to urgent need for increased armament production for the army.

Elbit Systems, a weapons manufacturing company, has long been accused of being complicit in the Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip. It is the largest Israeli military manufacturer and produces 85 per cent of the country’s land-based equipment as well as 85 per cent of drones used by the Israeli Air Force.

Since 7 October Israeli has killed more than 35,700 Palestinians — mainly children and women — and wounded nearly 80,000 others. More than seven months into the Israeli onslaught, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which, in January, issued an interim ruling that ordered it to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.