244 US cargo planes, 20 ships deliver over 10,000 tons of military equipment to Israel

TOI 25 December 2023,

US-supplied military equipment arriving in Israel, December 2023. (Ministry of Defense Spokesperson’s Office)

Two hundred and forty-four US transport planes and 20 ships have delivered more than 10,000 tons of armaments and military equipment to Israel since the start of the war, Channel 12 reports.

The Defense Ministry has made NIS 40 billion (almost $2.8 billion) in additional purchases from the US, it says.

Furthermore, it reports, all of Israel’s military industry production lines are working round the clock.

The TV report follows comments by Likud MK Tally Gotliv, who claimed at a faction meeting earlier today that the quantity of artillery shelling of Hamas targets in southern Gaza has “dropped dramatically in the past three weeks.”

The TV report also addresses what it says have been claims that the IDF is engaged in “armament economics” — in other words, that it is conserving ammunition to ensure it does not run out. It says there has been no case since the start of the war where the Air Force did not strike, or ground forces did not fire, because of a shortage of ammunition.

On December 6, the Defense Ministry had publicized the arrival of the 200th US cargo plane carrying military equipment for the IDF. “The significant delivery marks the culmination of a joint effort led by the Ministry of Defense’s US Procurement Mission, in collaboration with the IMOD Directorate of Production and Procurement, the IDF Planning Division, and the IDF Technology and Logistics Division,” it said at the time.

Also citing the figure of 10,000 tons, it said the military equipment delivered to Israel since the beginning of the war included “armored vehicles, armaments, personal protective equipment, medical supplies, ammunition, and more.”