Israel: Defense Budget to Increase by Over $12 Billion for National Security Reasons

According to Reuters, the Israeli Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense issued a joint statement on July 17, announcing an increase of approximately $12.5 billion in defense spending for 2025 and 2026 to advance urgent and essential procurement transactions critical to national security.

Reuters quoted Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich, who said that the new defense budget fully covers the needs of the Gaza campaign and comprehensive security preparedness against all threats from the south, north, and more distant regions.

Since Hamas' deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel has launched strikes on the Gaza Strip under Hamas control, and military spending has significantly increased since then.

Over the past one and a half years, Israel has not only continued military operations in Gaza but also clashed with Hezbollah in Lebanon. In June this year, it also had a 12-day intense air battle with Iran. After the political upheaval in Syria in December last year, Israel carried out air strikes on Syria, and recently launched air strikes on Damascus due to sectarian conflicts in Syria.

Reuters pointed out that Israel's missile defense system has been almost non-stop over the past 21 months, busy intercepting missiles launched by Hezbollah, Iran, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Currently, Israel's annual defense spending is 110 billion shekels, and the total budget for the 2025 fiscal year is 756 billion shekels.

The report cited Israeli Defense Minister Barak, who stated that with the additional defense budget, the Israeli Defense Ministry can immediately sign procurement agreements for required weapons and ammunition, replenishing depleted stocks and supporting ongoing operations of the Israel Defense Forces. He noted that the new defense budget will also allow the ministry to launch development plans, enhancing the quality advantage of future systems for the Israeli Defense Forces.

The report also mentioned that the Israeli Defense Ministry claims to have signed an agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries to accelerate the mass production of the "Arrow" (Arrow) interceptor. This is a missile defense system developed and manufactured jointly by Israel and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles.

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