Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel paid a steep price during the war against Hamas, including the deaths of soldiers, and claimed that some of those losses could have been avoided. He argued that shortages of ammunition on the battlefield, which he attributed to restrictions on US arms supplies, contributed to those fatalities.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Netanyahu said Israel bore “very heavy costs” in the Gaza conflict and acknowledged that casualties are an inevitable part of war. However, he maintained that not all the deaths were unavoidable, asserting that at a certain point Israeli forces lacked sufficient ammunition, which hampered ground operations.
Netanyahu did not provide details on how many soldiers were affected or specify when the alleged shortages occurred. While he stopped short of naming a particular US administration, he said the embargo ended after Donald Trump returned to office.
The Israeli leader has repeatedly accused the administration of former US President Joe Biden of limiting arms deliveries to Israel during the most intense phases of the Gaza war. The Biden administration has consistently denied imposing a broad embargo, saying it continued military assistance throughout the conflict and withheld only one shipment of 2,000-pound bunker-buster bombs due to concerns over their potential use in Rafah.
Despite these denials, Netanyahu insisted that the restrictions had tangible consequences on the battlefield. He said Israeli troops were fighting in areas already struck by air and artillery attacks, yet militants remained concealed in booby-trapped structures.
According to Netanyahu, “heroes fell” because they lacked the ammunition required for such combat, adding that the alleged embargo played a role in those shortages. He said the experience strengthened his resolve to ensure Israel never again faces similar constraints during wartime.
Netanyahu argued that Israel must significantly strengthen its domestic arms industry to reduce dependence on foreign military aid. He reiterated his aim of making Israel less reliant on US assistance within the next decade and said he wants the defence relationship with Washington to evolve from one based on aid to one centred on partnership, joint development, and co-production. He added that such cooperation could also involve other allies, including India and Germany.
Senior aides from the Biden administration strongly rejected Netanyahu’s claims. Amos Hochstein, a top adviser, accused him of being untruthful and ungrateful, pointing to more than $20 billion in US military support, the deployment of US aircraft carriers to the region, and Washington’s role in helping counter Iranian missile and drone attacks. Another former Biden aide, Brett McGurk, also dismissed Netanyahu’s remarks as categorically false.
