India Ranked 2nd Largest Military Goods Supplier to Israel by Al Jazeera Behind U.S. – Smear Campaign or Fact? OPED

Of late, a concerted campaign has been underway in Middle Eastern and Turkish media outlets, sharply highlighting the expanding military and defense trade between India and Israel. These reports frequently attempt to draw a direct connection between the deepening bilateral ties, the surge in arms and ammunition trade, and Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza, framing it within the broader Palestinian question.

Furthermore, these narratives go beyond mere criticism by actively portraying India not only as a key enabler of Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, but also as deeply complicit in alleged Israeli war crimes and “genocide” in Gaza.

Even shipments of steel from India to Israel are flagged as enabling “genocide” in Gaza.

The ultimate objective of this narrative warfare seems to be to harm India’s international image, muddy its legacy and consistent relevance as a credible voice of the Global South, and undermine India’s deepening bilateral ties with Arab states.

For instance, on May 18, the Middle East Eye (MEE) published an article that suggested that anti-war activists are “alarmed” over what it called a “flood’ of military supplies from India to Israel.

The whole story was built on activists’ quotes. Further, the activists also mentioned only the supply of “military-grade steel” from India to Israel.

However, these activist quotes highlighting the supply of “military-grade steel” from India to Israel were enough for the publication to conclude that the steel will be used for manufacturing 155 mm artillery shells, and possibly will be used in the Gaza War.

This flimsy evidence is then cited by the activists to hold India complicit in what they termed as Israel’s “genocidal” war in Gaza.

“Activists with the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) movement and No Harbor for Genocide (NHB) are raising the alarm over what they describe as a “flood” of military supplies from India to Israel, after six shipments of suspected military-grade steel were identified on multiple vessels en route to weapons factories in Israel,” the MEE report said.

“The shipments, activists said, amounted to around 806 tonnes of military-grade steel, and could produce up to 17,458 artillery (155mm) shells for the Israeli military.”

It is interesting to note the number of unsubstantiated, provocative comments by the ‘activists’ the MEE report has published.

“The BDS movement is calling for pressure to stop these supplies from reaching Israel and to hold the far-right Indian government and any complicit Indian company accountable for their complicity in Israel’s atrocity crimes,” Ilham Yaseen, military embargo coordinator with the BDS movement, told MEE.

Yassen’s comments characterized the three-times elected Indian government as “far-right.”

Further, the MEE report said, “The stalled shipments in the Mediterranean, activists said, highlight how India has stepped in to help address Israeli military supply shortfalls during the past two and a half years of war in Gaza, despite the January 2024 International Court of Justice ruling urging states to avoid actions that could assist Israel’s military campaign, which has been declared a genocide by the United Nations, genocide scholars and multiple human rights organisations.”

Again, Yassen’s comments were used to muddy India’s legacy as a credible voice of the Global South.

“India was once among the world leaders advancing the United Nations principles and multilateralism based on justice, freedom, and equality. Today, its far-right government has turned India into a world leader in arming genocide and apartheid,” Yaseen said.

Just four days later, on May 22, Qatar-based al-Jazeera published a report based on their investigation, which suggested that between October 2023 and October 2025, India was the second-largest military supplier to Israel.

According to the report, the five largest countries of origin for military-related goods entering Israel were the United States, India, Romania, Taiwan, and the Czech Republic.

During this period, the US supplied Israel 42 percent of its imported arms and ammunition. India ranked second, accounting for about 26 percent, according to the Al Jazeera investigation. The next three biggest suppliers were Romania (8 percent), Taiwan (4 percent), and the Czech Republic (3 percent).

However, the report’s overall focus on India, detailing every military export from India to Israel, stands out.

The report dedicates one full section to India, even more than the space it gives to the US, which at 42 percent was Israel’s largest military supplier during this period.

Further, an attempt was made to connect these military supplies to Israel’s alleged war crimes and ‘genocide’ in Gaza.

Al-Jazeera quoted Stephen Humphreys, professor of international law at the London School of Economics, as saying that there was “ample evidence that countries arming Israel may be complicit in international crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity”.

These reports paint a picture that India has dramatically scaled up its defense exports to Israel during the war, and these supplies are directly linked to Israel’s war in Gaza.

However, some context is necessary here.

For instance, according to the report, between October 2023 and October 2025, India exported defense equipment worth US$230 million to Israel, averaging US$115 million per year.

Whereas India’s defense exports in FY 2025-26 totaled around US$4.1 billion.

So, India’s defense exports to Israel accounted for nearly 2.8 percent of its overall defense exports.

Notably, India’s main defense export markets are the US, Armenia, and France, followed by the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Belgium, Germany, and several African nations.

Clearly, Israel is just one of the several countries importing Indian arms and ammunition, and not a very significant one.

Also, defense trade between India and Israel flows in both directions. Israel consistently figures in India’s top three countries for defense imports.

According to SIPRI, between 2021 and 2025, Israel was the third-largest source of weapons for India, behind Russia and France, accounting for 15% of all Indian defense imports.

India and Israel, therefore, have mutual trade in defense equipment that predates the Gaza War.

Additionally, the defense companies of both countries have established multiple Joint Ventures. For instance, India’s Kalyani Strategic Systems and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems have established a JV -Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Private Limited (KRAS).

Similarly, India’s Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have established a JV – BEL IAI AeroSystems Private Ltd (BIA).

India’s DCX Systems Limited and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)/ELTA Systems established ELTX Systems Pvt Ltd.

India’s Adani Defence & Aerospace and Israel’s Elbit Systems have established Adani Elbit Advanced Systems India Limited.

Reliance Defence and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems have established a JV.

Punj Lloyd and Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) have established a small arms factory.

These JVs mean there will always be significant back-and-forth in defense trade between India and Israel.

According to SIPRI, India remains the world’s second-largest defense importer, and Israel is the world’s seventh-largest defense exporter.

Similarly, Israel was the world’s 14th-largest arms importer in 2021–25, and India has just entered the world’s top 25 arms-exporting countries.

Given these statistics, it is only natural that there will be significant defense trade between the two, especially because the two countries are also strategic partners.

However, notwithstanding India’s defense trade with Israel, India has not abandoned the Palestinian people.

For instance, in February this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendera Modi said that “the Gaza peace initiative that was endorsed by the UN Security Council offers a pathway. India has expressed its firm support for the initiative. We believe that it holds the promise of a just and durable peace for all the people of the region, including by addressing the Palestine issue.”

Notably, Modi made these remarks during his historic address to the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) on February 25, 2026.

Linking India’s minuscule defense exports to Israel — which account for only a tiny fraction of its total global arms exports — directly to the Gaza War, or worse, to allegations of war crimes and enabling genocide, is not only a massive overstretch but also smacks of politically motivated propaganda.

New Delhi must not take this propaganda lightly and should proactively counter this narrative.

India has deep cultural, political, and economic ties with the Gulf countries.

India’s trade with Israel, currently at US$3.6 billion, pales compared to its trade with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Trade with the GCC, India’s top trading partner, ahead of the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, reached US$178 billion last year and is growing fast.

India has consistently maintained that it seeks mutually beneficial trade and security relations with all countries and blocs. India has strong defense and energy partnerships with Russia, as well as with the US and Europe.

The reductionist argument that links India’s defense trade with Israel directly to the Gaza War not only oversimplifies a complex and nuanced geopolitical relationship but is also deeply misleading.

• Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK. 
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• He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com