Germany approved military equipment exports worth nearly €800 million ($930 million) to Israel during the first half of 2026, amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, according to figures disclosed by the German Economy and Energy Ministry.
The figure was provided in response to a parliamentary inquiry by the opposition Left Party and reported by German magazine Der Spiegel.
Export licenses issued between January and June were reportedly worth more than four times the total value approved for Israel throughout 2025.
The sharp increase followed the German government’s decision in November 2025 to lift partial restrictions on arms exports to Israel.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz had suspended exports of weapons that could be used in Gaza on August 8, 2025, after Israel announced plans to expand its military operations in the enclave. The restrictions remained in place for roughly three and a half months before being eased.
Large-scale defense projects accounted for much of the increase in approved exports.
Of the €735.8 million in export licenses approved during the second quarter, around 67 percent were linked to a naval project.
The report highlighted the INS Drakon, an air-independent-propulsion submarine built by German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), which recently left a shipyard in Kiel bound for Israel.
A further 21 percent of the licenses covered joint projects involving German and Israeli companies considered to serve the strategic interests of Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr.
The remaining approvals covered a range of military equipment, including small arms, ammunition, explosives and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Germany approved military exports worth €327 million to Israel in 2023, €161.1 million in 2024 and €260 million in 2025.
German arms exports to Israel had already increased sharply in 2023, rising to roughly ten times the level recorded the previous year.
The latest figures are likely to intensify debate in Germany over arms exports to Israel, particularly amid continuing international scrutiny of the humanitarian situation and military operations in Gaza.
