The Ditch can exclusively report that EU member states exported 69 million rounds of ammunition to Israel since October 2023 under the controversial EU-Israel trade agreement.
The figures include 15 million rounds sent to Israel in the first four months of this year.
Though Israel imposed a food blockade on Gaza from 2 March this year, EU member state the Czech Republic has since allowed ammunition exports to Israel under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
EU foreign ministers agreed last week to review the agreement in response to Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
Ammunition shortage
Figures obtained by The Ditch from the Israel Tax Authority show the EU’s role in keeping Israel supplied with ammunition amid its onslaught against Gaza.
Israeli media reported last year the state was facing an ammunition shortage. However this was alleviated by exports from Italy and the Czech Republic to Israel of just under 38 million rounds of ammunition in 2024.
The same two EU member states sent more than 16 million rounds of ammunition from October to December 2023, with Italy accounting for around a third of that figure.
Meanwhile the Czech Republic sent 15 million rounds of ammunition to Israel in the first four months of this year, including shipments in March and April.
The central European state previously supplied the weapons used to establish the State of Israel in 1948.
The European Commission has been contacted for comment.
