UK arms exports to Israel reach record high of R9.2 million as war on Gaza continues

Exclusive analysis of Israeli customs data has revealed that the value of arms imported by Israel from the UK reached a record high in June 2025.

This comes as the war on Gaza continues and concerns mount over international arms control practices and accountability for weapons used in the war.

The analysis of Israel Tax Authority figures indicates munitions worth approximately a staggering £400,000 (R9.2 million) arriving from the UK and passing through Israeli customs in June 2025.

This represents the highest value in a single month since available records began.

The unspecified items were categorised under a customs code that includes "Bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles and similar munitions of war and parts thereof". 

The findings follow a UN Commission of Inquiry report, which stated there are "reasonable grounds to conclude" that Israel is committing four acts of genocide in Gaza, including killing and deliberate destruction.

The Commission advised other countries to employ all means available to prevent genocide, including stopping arms sales if there is reason to believe the weapons will be used in genocide.

Further significant shipments detailed

The analysis also revealed a significant value of UK arms shipments in August 2025, totalling more than £150,000 (R3.48 million), making it the second largest monthly amount recorded. Items received that month included a shipment of 110,000 units categorised as "bullets" worth around £20,000 (R464,000). Other August shipments were classified under parts for "tanks" and parts "of shotguns or rifles".

In response to the damning analysis, the UK government stated that it takes its arms control system seriously and has taken "every possible measure" to ensure no licences are given for UK military exports that could be used by the IDF in Gaza.

The UK government previously announced the suspension of 29 export licences in September 2024, although more than 350 licences remain active, over 160 of which are listed as "military".The UK government stressed that its records show they "do not export any bombs or ammunition for use in military operations in Gaza or the West Bank". They further noted that Israeli customs data does not differentiate between live munitions, training equipment, sporting ammunition, or items intended for re-export versus those staying in Israel.

When asked for details, an Israeli government spokesperson declined, citing confidentiality clauses in Israeli tax laws, but noted that the broad categories specified "may include a broad variety of items which are not necessarily live ammunition or weapons". Israel dismissed the UN Commission’s report, calling the expert panel "Hamas proxies".

South Africa and arms sales

The increased scrutiny on UK arms exports coincides with parallel concerns raised in South Africa regarding its own arms control system and the potential use of its munitions in international conflicts.

Carl Niehaus, the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) permanent representative on the Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD), formally requested an end to arms sales to nations embroiled in conflict, explicitly naming "apartheid Israel and Ukraine".

Earlier this year, Niehaus provided evidence to the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) Chair, Minister Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, arguing that continued arms transfers jeopardise South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel for genocide in Gaza.

Niehaus alleged that Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) is central to the problem. He claimed that Rheinmetall operates warehouses in Germany and Hungary from which it re-exports South African-manufactured shells to Israel and Ukraine.

This practice, he argued, "circumvents both South African and German export controls" by exploiting end-user oversight loopholes. Niehaus slammed the NCACC’s "chronic under-resourcing" and inability to enforce End User Certificates (EUCs), suggesting this means arms are "likely re-exported to Israel, fueling its genocide in Gaza".

In 2023, South African arms companies exported R3.3 billion in arms to countries supplying Israel, including Germany, which is Israel’s second-largest arms supplier. Minister Ntshavheni did not respond to questions regarding Niehaus’s detailed allegations.

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