ISRAEL ALLOCATES $825M TO BUY ‘URGENT SECURITY SUPPLIES’ AMID REPORTED DEFICIT OF INTERCEPTOR MISSILES

Sun 15 March 2026:

Israel has approved an $827m emergency budget allocation for military purchases, according to Israeli media, as the US-Israel war on Iran entered its third week.

The 2.6-billion-shekel package was approved over the weekend by cabinet ministers during a telephone meeting, the Haaretz daily reported. It will be used for “security purchases” and to address “urgent needs”, it said, without providing further details.

A Finance Ministry document circulated to all ministers and cited by several media outlets said, “given the intensity of the fighting”, the additional budget allocation was necessary.

“An urgent and immediate need has arisen to provide an operational response, including the acquisition of munitions, the procurement of advanced weapons systems and the replenishment of critical combat stocks,” the document said.

The document added that the move constituted “an exceptional emergency decision intended solely to address needs arising from the conduct of the fighting”.

The funds will be drawn from the state budget, totalling $222bn and approved by the government on March 12, and expected to be adopted by the Knesset by March 31, according to the reports.

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The move came a day after American news website Semafor, citing US officials, reported that Israel is running critically low on ballistic missile interceptors as the war with Iran continues.

The website said that the US has been aware for months that Israel has a low capacity, adding that Washington is not running low on interceptors of its own.

The channel said the cost of the ongoing war on Iran for Israel has reached 22 billion shekels ($7 billion), including 12 billion shekels ($3.81 billion) spent on munitions and 5 billion shekels ($1.59 billion) in operational costs for combat aircraft.

Last year’s 12-day war against Iran cost Israel only 20 billion shekels ($6.4 billion), according to the channel.

Hostilities have escalated since Feb. 28 when Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Iran, killing around 1,200 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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