TEL AVIV, February 27. /TASS/. Israel’s defense ministry said that it has bought $10 billion worth of weapons from domestic manufacturers since October 7, 2023.

"Over nearly five months of war, the defense ministry has contracted Israeli suppliers for more than 35 billion shekels (around $10 billion)," it said. "The ministry continues round-the-clock purchases [in Israel] to meet the demands of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and ensure independence [from foreign supplies]."

The ministry said that it had bought thousands of weapons and has orders for thousands more. According to the ministry, Israel is expanding weapons production to help ensure its national security.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.