I was giving a talk last week about current events in Israel, and I was asked a seemingly innocuous question: “Is Israel getting everything it needs from the U.S. in order to defend itself?” I answered that the answer to the question was far more complex than a simple “yes” or “no.”
From the outset, it must be stated that the arms provided to Israel by the U.S. since October 7 have been critical to the war effort. Until January 1, 2025, the U.S. had given Israel about $22 billion in aid. Broadly speaking, Israel operates two types of weapons: defensive weapons and offensive weapons.
Defensive weapons include anti-missile systems like Iron Dome and David’s Sling, systems that have been used in the war with great success to intercept weapons fired from Iran and her proxies. Defensive systems also include the Trophy Active Protection System (APS) installed on IDF tanks and other military vehicles. Trophy acts like a miniature Iron Dome, shooting down rocket propelled grenades and anti-armor missiles before they can hit the vehicle. Offensive systems include unguided heavy bombs, like the 1-ton Mk 84 and the half-ton Mk 83, precision GPS-guided munitions including JDAM and Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) munitions. The IDF uses these weapons to destroy large buildings hiding arms-caches, rocket production facilities, and more. Another offensive weapon is the Caterpillar D9 bulldozer. The D9 is a beast. It weighs 44 tons. Its size, durability, and reliability have made it one of the most large bulldozers in the world. The D9 was not designed as a military vehicle. It was designed for use in the construction industry, and it is used in construction sites around the world, Israel included. Nevertheless, the features that make the D9 popular for construction applications make it desirable for military applications, as well. The IDF has even added armor to the D9 to make it more survivable. The IDF uses the D9 to lead the way for the infantry. It demolishes buildings, clears wreckage, and removes Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). It is one of the main combat engineering tools of the IDF.
Getting back to the question of whether Israel is getting everything it needs from the U.S. to defend itself, the answer is “yes.” The U.S. has provided funding for procurement of Israeli interceptors manufactured or partially manufactured in the U.S., such as Iron Dome and Arrow-3. According to media reports, the U.S. even airlifted hardware to Israel. The hardware came from Iron Dome batteries that the U.S. purchased from Israel earlier in the decade. It can be unequivocally stated that any request to the U.S. for defensive aid by Israel since October 7 was immediately granted.
Offensive weaponry is a different kettle of fish. Immediately after the war began, the U.S. airlifted large quantities of military equipment to Israel, equipment that included precision guided munitions such as JDAM and SDB. But as the war dragged on, the flow of offensive weaponry slowed. The amount of bombs delivered was far below the quantity that Israel required. D9s that were ordered by Israel using U.S.-provided Foreign Military Funds (FMF) were not delivered at all. The alleged reason for this is that the U.S. took issue with Israeli offensives in southern Gaza, especially in the heavily-populated Hamas stronghold of Khan Yunis and the city of Rafah on the southern border, a border beneath which Hamas had been smuggling large amounts of weapons into Gaza. In October 2024, the U.S. openly threatened to curtail military aid to Israel unless it allowed “sufficient” humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. So while Israel did indeed receive from the U.S. everything that it needed to protect itself, it did not receive everything it needed to win the war.
The Trump Administration has not only returned the flow of offensive weaponry to Israel, it has supercharged it. Last month, President Trump lifted the suspension of provision of one-ton bombs to Israel because “they paid for them, and they have been waiting for them for a long time.” More than 100 D9s that had been put on the back burner by the previous Administration are also being shipped to Israel. Israel will use these weapons to accomplish its goal to utterly defeat Hamas so as to ensure that October 7 never repeats itself.
There is a fallacy that Israel builds its defense posture on missile defense, and that if its defensive shield is strong enough, it will not have to go to war. This is a pipedream. Imagine a knight in shining armor. He meets a genie who gives him a suit of armor made of titanium and Kevlar, able to deflect not only the thrust of the enemy’s sword, but bullets from large-caliber guns. If that knight goes into battle wearing that suit of armor, he will not be defeated. But unless he is armed with a serious sword, he will not emerge victorious. For nearly 25 years, Israel has fought an essentially defensive war with Hamas. Hamas would fire rockets on Israel, and Israel would intercept them. Israel built a wall around Gaza to protect against an invasion. Every few years, Israel would fight a short and limited war with Hamas and its proxies. Israeli Military called it “mowing the lawn.” They referred to the situation as “the war between wars.” At the same time, the Hamas cancer was festering unabated. They used the cement that was provided as humanitarian aid to build a network of terror tunnels. They built underground rocket factories and accumulated nearly 100,000 rockets of all shapes and sizes. They smuggled in weapons made in places like North Korea and Syria under the Rafah border in tunnels that were large enough for a truck to drive through. Every few years, the Israelis attacked and incurred some relatively minor damage. Hamas continued to prepare for a battle that would implement its goal of the destruction of the State of Israel. On October 7, Hamas pulled the trigger, and Israel found itself woefully unprepared.
To prevent a recurrence of October 7, Israel must finish the job of rooting Hamas out of Gaza. This is possible, as discussed recently in this blog. But in order to finish the job, Israel requires full support from the U.S. – both diplomatic support and military support. A popular adage in Israel these days is “Together we will win.” All Israelis are under fire, regardless of politics, religion, or any other superficial characteristic. The same adage is equally relevant to the U.S. Only if the two countries work together can Israel be granted long-term security.
Call me an optimist, but it certainly looks like things are moving in the right direction.
Good things,
Ari Sacher