According to Two Reports: How the United States Funded Israel's Wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Against Iran

According to two new reports, Israel would not have been able to sustain its wars in the Middle East without massive financial support from the United States, amounting to over $21 billion since October 2023. This was reported by Al Jazeera on its website on Tuesday, October 7.

These reports, published by the Costs of War Project at Brown University, reveal that without American weapons and money, Israel would not have been able to continue its genocidal war in Gaza, initiate a conflict with Iran, or repeatedly bomb Yemen.

The report's findings are also corroborated by analysts who state that Israel's wars in Gaza and the wider region could not have continued without financial and diplomatic support from the United States.

"American support for Israel at all levels is essential for the conduct of Israel's war, both in Gaza and throughout the region," said Omar H. Rahman, a member of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, to Al Jazeera.

The war in Gaza alone has resulted in at least 67,160 deaths and 169,679 injuries since October 2023.

Thousands of people are still believed to be buried under the rubble in Gaza, while Israel has killed dozens in strikes on Yemen and over 1,000 during its attack on Iran in June.

Israel Relies on American Funding for Its War

Two years ago, 1,139 people died in an attack by Hamas against Israel, with over 200 taken hostage.

Israel's response was to devastate Gaza and conduct a wider war against any group deemed hostile in the region.

Israel has intensified its raids in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, destroyed entire villages, invaded and occupied Lebanese and Syrian territories, bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, sparked a 12-day war with Iran, and exchanged attacks with the Houthis in Yemen.

"Given the scale of current and future expenditures, it is clear that the Israeli army would not have been able to cause the destruction in Gaza or escalate its military operations throughout the region without the funding, weapons, and political support from the United States," the report titled US Military Aid and Arms Transfers to Israel, October 2023–September 2025, written by William D. Hartung, a senior researcher at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, states.

Hartung's report, published in conjunction with the Costs of War Project, shows how American support has allowed Israel to continue conducting a multi-front war for two years. An accompanying study by Linda J. Bilmes, a public finance expert at the Harvard Kennedy School, estimates that the United States has spent "a total of $31.35 to $33.77 billion, and it’s not over yet" since October 7, 2023, in military aid to Israel and for American military operations in the region.

Analysts Confirm These Findings

"Israel needs American weapons to do what it does," explains Omar H. Rahman. "The country has dropped an excessive amount of weapons on Gaza and elsewhere. It manufactures some weapons and technologies, but not the bombs themselves. Without the United States, it wouldn't have been able to drop them."

Historic Bipartisan Support

The United States has long been Israel's most faithful supporter. In terms of foreign aid, Israel is the largest annual recipient (approximately $3.3 billion per year) and the largest cumulative recipient (over $150 billion through 2022).

Despite changes in administration, American support has remained constant. Hartung's report highlights that both the Biden and Trump administrations signed arms agreements worth tens of billions of dollars, including services and equipment to be delivered in the coming years.

"This bipartisan support has allowed Israel, which regularly violates international law since its inception, to do so with the backing of Western democracies without being seriously challenged," Rahman specifies.

Changing American Public Opinion

In recent months, as academics characterize Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide, Israel's image has significantly declined in the United States.

Even among American Jews, skepticism is growing: according to a recent Washington Post survey, 4 out of 10 Jews believe Israel is committing genocide, while more than 60% think Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza.

The U.S. Continues to Find Billions to Aid Israel

According to analysts, this massive support could have significant implications for American politics in the future.

"Some former Biden administration officials may hope to avoid dealing with this issue, but they are living in an imaginary world," said Matt Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy in Washington, to Al Jazeera.

"I don’t think a Democrat can win a primary in 2028 without acknowledging that the Biden administration contributed to inflicting and supporting a genocide," he added.

Beyond public criticism in the United States regarding Israel's actions in the Middle East, analysts point out that figures like those revealed by the Costs of War Project could also irritate Americans frustrated by the use of their taxes.

"Budgets reflect priorities, but even though Americans have the weakest social safety net of any modern country, we still seem to find billions and billions to support Israel in its various wars," Duss stated.

"Anyone who has ever tried to manage a household budget can see how absurd this is, but it also reflects the broader corruption of American politics.

"It’s not just for Israeli interests; it’s also for the American industrial complex, which makes fortunes, as a large portion of this aid and these arms sales directly benefits many American companies."

Source: Al Jazeera