Germany rises armaments shipments to Israel since August

In the past eight weeks, the German government has approved military equipment and munitions exports to Israel worth around 31 million euros, more than twice as much as during the entire rest of the year, reported dpa.

Export licenses for German-made armaments worth 45.74 million euros bound for Israel had been issued by October 13, according to a report from Germany's Economy Ministry that was provided to a parliamentary committee and obtained by dpa.

As of August 21, the total value stood at 14.46 million euros, according to a response from the ministry to a parliamentary question posed by lawmakers.

The ministry said the figures are provisional and may be subject to revision or correction.

It is not immediately clear what kinds of armaments and military equipment are included in the shipments to Israel, and the ministry declined to provide further details, citing the confidentiality of decisions on export licenses made by the Federal Security Council.

The report cites categories of goods, including ammunition, bombs and warships. However, it is not clear whether the licenses are for arms deliveries or delivery of other items such as spare parts.

"There is no ban on arms exports to Israel," the ministry reiterated in its report to the committee.

Decisions on licenses are made on a case-by-case basis and in light of the respective situation, the ministry said.

"In doing so, the federal government takes into account compliance with international humanitarian law and the current situation in the region, including the escalation caused by Iran's rocket attacks on Israel, the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah on Israel and the course of the operation in Gaza and Lebanon," the report says.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced further arms deliveries to Israel on Thursday during remarks to parliament.

Opposition lawmakers from the centre-right CDU/CSU bloc had previously accused Scholz's government of failing to adequately support Israel.

The opposition critics explicitly alleged that the government was delaying approvals for weapons shipments to Israel.