Jerusalem/Washington, Jan 29 (.) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while honouring the last of the deceased hostages, Ran Gvill, claimed that many Israeli soldiers were killed during the war against Hamas as the IDF had run short of ammunition on the front, due to what he described as a US-imposed “embargo”.
Netanyahu did not specify how many soldiers he believes died for this reason, or at what stage of the fighting the alleged shortage occurred.
While he did not explicitly name the Biden administration, he nonetheless made it extremely clear whom he referred to when he said the “embargo” ended as soon as Donald Trump took office.
The Israeli leader has repeatedly accused the Biden administration of restricting arms supplies to Israel, particularly in June 2024.
The Biden administration has sternly rejected Netanyahu’s claims, saying that the only shipment that was delayed was a batch of 2,000-pound “bunker buster” bombs, due to its concerns about their possible misuse in the densely populated city of Rafah in south Gaza.
Netanyahu raised the issue unprompted at the end of a lengthy press conference. Stating that Israeli soldiers had paid “very heavy prices” in the war, with many losing their lives, he remarked that some while casualties were an inevitable outcome in war, some he argued resulted from a lack of ammunition “at a certain stage”.
According to Netanyahu, Israeli forces were already operating under tough circumstances, forced to fight in areas already hit by artillery and air strikes, which were nonetheless used by terrorists who were hiding in booby-trapped buildings.
“Heroes fell” because they lacked sufficient ammunition, he said, adding that “part of that absent ammunition was because of the embargo”.
Stating that he was determined to ensure such a situation would never be repeated, arguing that Israel must develop a stronger and more independent domestic arms industry.
Repeating comments he made earlier this month, Netanyahu said he hoped to reduce Israel’s reliance on US military aid over the next decade.
As part of that shift, he said he wanted to transform the Israel-US defence relationship “from aid to partnership”, based on Israeli weapons development and joint production, potentially extending such cooperation to other allies, including India and Germany.
The remarks caused heavy pushback from senior US figures who served in the Biden administration, with Amos Hochstein, one of Biden’s top advisers, accusing Netanyahu of bluntly lying.
“Netanyahu is both not telling the truth and ungrateful to a president that literally saved Israel at its most vulnerable moment,” Hochstein told Axios shortly after the press conference.
In a post on X, Hochstein pointed to more than $20 billion in US military assistance — the largest package in Israel’s history — as well as the deployment of US aircraft carriers and missile defences, saying these measures had saved “countless lives of Israelis”.
He was backed by fellow former Biden aide Brett McGurk, who said Netanyahu’s claim was “categorically false”. McGurk said Biden left office with ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon in place, Hezbollah weakened, and Iran “in its weakest position since 1979” after failed missile attacks thwarted with US support. . . .
Former US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides also rejected Netanyahu’s account, telling Ynet that Biden’s backing of Israel had been “rock solid” and came about at “significant political cost.”
. .