Israel approves $827 million emergency defence budget amid ongoing Iran war

Israel approves emergency defence budget amid war

Israel has approved an $827 million emergency allocation for defence-related purchases, according to Israeli media reports on Sunday, as the conflict with Iran entered its third week.

The 2.6-billion-shekel funding package was reportedly endorsed by cabinet ministers over the weekend during a telephone meeting, the daily Haaretz said.

The money will be directed towards "security purchases" and to meet "urgent needs", the report stated, without offering additional details.

The government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet issued an official statement on the decision or clarified what specific acquisitions the funds will support.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected weekend reports suggesting that Israel had told the United States it was experiencing a shortage of missile interceptors.

When asked by journalists to comment, Saar, who was visiting a site recently struck by an Iranian missile, said: "The answer is no."

A finance ministry document circulated to all ministers and reported by several media outlets, including Channel 12, said that "given the intensity of the fighting" the additional budget allocation was necessary.

"An urgent and immediate need has arisen to provide an operational response, including the acquisition of munitions, the procurement of advanced weapons systems and the replenishment of critical combat stocks," the document said.

The document added that the move constituted "an exceptional emergency decision intended solely to address needs arising from the conduct of the fighting".

The funds will be drawn from the state budget, totalling $222 billion and approved by the government on March 12, and expected to be adopted by the Knesset by March 31, according to the reports.

Since the Israeli-US bombardments against Iran that began on February 28, Israel has been targeted daily by Iranian ballistic missile fire, which the military has mostly intercepted using its missile defence systems.

According to Haaretz, citing security officials, 250 ballistic missiles had been fired by Iran at Israel as of March 13.

Twelve people have been killed in Israel by missiles or falling debris since the start of the war, according to an AFP tally of figures given by Israeli authorities and first responders.