War Profiteering: Who’s Cashing In on Israeli Military Aid?

1. A New Breed of War Profiteers

In the sprawling corridors of Washington and Tel Aviv, war profiteering has taken a chilling new form: defence contractors amassing record profits from Israeli military aid. From U.S. weapons giants to high‑tech Israeli startups, the scale and speed of profiteering in the Gaza conflict are redefining the military‑industrial complex, for profit, not peace.

2. A $22.8 Billion Pipeline of U.S. Arms

Since October 2023, the U.S. government greenlit at least $17.9 billion in security assistance to Israel via Foreign Military Financing (FMF), emergency drawdowns, and classified deals. When you include regional operations, like U.S. naval action against Houthi groups, the total exceeds $22.76 billion

That turns each American taxpayer into an inadvertent sponsor of bloody violence: according to one analysis, the average U.S. taxpayer contributes about $14 directly to Israeli military operations in Gaza. With every vaccine delayed, school unfunded, or benefit cut, the moral reckoning is overdue.

3. U.S. Giants Riding the Wave

Lockheed Martin, RTX, Boeing & Co.

Lockheed Martin, RTX (formerly Raytheon), Boeing, and General Dynamics form a crown that profits from this flow of funds.

• Lockheed Martin: Received an estimated $249 per taxpayer last year - money that funded bombs raining down on Gaza.
• RTX/Raytheon: Its Patriot missile systems are often part of arms packages to Israel; the firm was fined nearly $950 million for other misconduct
• Boeing: Supplied thousands of small-diameter “smart bombs” during the early days of the Gaza assault; U.S. arms to Israel previously netted it between $50 - 100 billion from 2009 to 2022

Even minor U.S. contractors have seen revenues surge. TransDigm, for example, specialises in high-margin aerospace components and has faced criticism for exploiting Pentagon contracts, and now fares even better as demand intensifies

Meanwhile, Palantir, backed by its CEO Alex Karp’s open support for Israel, is providing AI-driven reconnaissance tools to the IDF. Its contract sparked resignations and protests in Europe

4. Israel’s Tech Boom: From Startup to Arms Exporter

Israel’s wartime economy overhauled its military-industrial complex into a hyper-growth arms-export hub

a) Established Arsenal Firms

• Elbit Systems: Over 30% of its business comes from the Israeli military. Profits jumped again during Q3 2024 amid Gaza and Lebanon operations
• Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI): Net profit rose from $318M to $493M (2023–24), with revenues increasing 15% to $6.1B. Exports rose, but local military revenue surged too.

b) High-Tech Startups On Overdrive

Some of the world’s most advanced AI drone‑makers and cyber firms are riding the surge.

• Xtend: Its AI indoor drones, tested on Hamas fighters, raised $40M and landed an $8.8M U.S. contract all since October 2023
• Thirdeye Systems: Anti‑drone tech grew from three to seven product lines. A 30% stake was recently sold to EDGE (UAE), amid its wartime boom
• Kela & other startups have benefited too, with rapid Israeli defence ministry backing and fresh VC from Sequoia, Lux, even the CIA’s venture arm

Reuters reported that Israel signed a record $15 billion in defence deals in 2024, a 13% rise, even amid international backlash. The Wall Street Journal noted a 25–30% increase in export/backlog for Elbit, Rafael, and IAI.

5. Bulldozers, Surveillance & Bulldozing Rights

Global businesses beyond weapons are complicit:

• Caterpillar’s D9 bulldozers have been used by the Israeli military to demolish Palestinian homes, despite repeated calls for bans.
• Amazon & Google provide cloud and AI infrastructure (Project Nimbus), enabling IDF capabilities from facial detection in Gaza to military AI
• Barclays has underwritten billions in loans/underwriting to arms firms supplying Israel, despite protests and divestment calls

So those “civilian” headline companies turn out to be deeply entangled in war.

6. The Military‑Industrial Lobby Machine

ProPublica revealed how defence-contractor lobbyists and State Department officials conspired to grease arms sales to Israel, even sending diplomatic cables urging more bombs and reportedly receiving thanks in wine.

Inside Higher Ed recently reported that the University of San Francisco divested from Palantir, L3Harris, GE Aerospace, and RTX, all tied to Israeli military contracts. Growing momentum for divestment now spreads across campuses and pension funds.

7. The Human Cost

All this profiteering has a human face - a devastatingly steep toll. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed. Entire neighbourhoods erased. International courts are investigating genocide allegations.

Armament firms profit; families collapse. Billions in U.S. taxes buy military-grade weapons, while social services go unpaid.

8. Accountability Through Divestment and Transparency

What can or must be done?

• Divestment campaigns (like at USF) send a signal and withdraw financial legitimacy.
• Stricter licensing on military exports, including overrides of corporate lobbying, could slow the pipeline.
• Transparency laws: require contractors to publish all foreign military engagements.
• Civil society scrutiny: NGOs like PAX, AFSC and The Nation track arms‑financing links, but pressure needs to turn into policy impact.

9. Conclusion: Turning the Profit Tide

War profiteering is not inevitable - it’s a choice enabled by policy and profiteers. When taxpayers fund bombs but lack bread, the system is broken. When accountants watch quarterly revenue instead of terror on the ground, capitalism has failed.

We need rigorous oversight, public scrutiny, and unflinching questions of moral and financial accountability. Because if not now, when?