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Amid Tensions, Israel Set to Manufacture Helmets Domestically in Move Away From US Dependence
US President Joe Biden, left, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: Miriam Alster/Pool via REUTERS
Israel’s military and Defense Ministry are set to open solicitations for Israeli-made military helmets and uniforms in a move towards manufacturing independence, Israeli media reported on Thursday.
The decision comes as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) seeks to limit its dependence on the United States for vital military equipment.
The Defense Ministry’s Procurement Department is in the process of drafting a request for information (RFI) for Israeli-based manufacturers to describe their ability to develop helmet and uniform manufacturing facilities. In general government contracts, the RFI stage is then followed by a request for proposals (RFP), whereby prospective vendors would submit their bid to build the factory and manufacture the helmets and uniforms.
IDF helmets and uniforms are largely imported from US manufacturers, which has caused problems for the military during the ongoing war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
The outbreak of the war led to the call up of more than 360,000 reservists, causing a massive shortage of helmets. IDF guidelines prescribe specific helmets for different units, such as stronger ballistic protection, flashlights, cameras, and other specifications.
According to the Procurement Department, the sudden need for such large quantities of helmets led to a delay in delivery, the need to source from multiple parties, and an increase in price. This was the case for other essential gear, including weapons systems and ammunition that comes from the United States.
The push for domestic production comes amid rising tensions between the US and Israel over the war in Gaza. Washington has increasingly pressured Jerusalem, which launched the Israeli military offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, to agree to a ceasefire with the terror group, scale back its operations, and allow more humanitarian aid despite concerns that Hamas leadership will steal it from civilians.
US President Joe Biden, who has supported Israel’s right to defend itself following the Oct. 7 atrocities, has adopted an apparent shift in his approach to the Gaza war in recent weeks. Amid growing pressure from Democrats in Congress to be tougher on Israel, the Biden administration has come out in support of a ceasefire in Gaza after previously opposing one. Israel has argued that a ceasefire without the release of its hostages in Gaza would allow Hamas to strengthen its position.
The White House also reportedly asked the State Department and the Pentagon for a list of all weapons the US is planning to send the Jewish state over the next few weeks. Other reports indicate Biden may consider conditioning aid to Israel if the Jewish state launches a military operation in Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza and where most of the Palestinian enclave’s civilians are located.
Meanwhile, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday called for new elections in Israel, lambasting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace. The comments came after a group of eight liberal and progressive US senators demanded Biden stop military assistance to Israel. Schumer did not sign the letter.
A separate letter from Democratic members of the US House of Representatives argued an Israeli invasion of Rafah “should not be supported by US taxpayer-funded assistance” if it “runs counter to the specific principles outlined” by the Biden administration on necessary conditions to give aid — a situation they considered “likely.”
The IDF has been in urgent need of resupplies of ammunition. According to reports from December, more than 240 US transport planes and 20 military ships have brought over 10,000 tons of ammunition since the onset of the war, including those needed for tanks, missile defense, artillery shells, bombs for the air force, and handheld weapons for civilians.
Israel has made strides since the war to prop up its local defense manufacturing capabilities. Netanyahu said in January at a press conference that the country “is preparing the defense industries to disconnect from dependency on the rest of the world,” including investment into a “multi-year plan to free Israel from dependence on external purchases. We’ll need to equip locally, with a local manufacturing capability.”
Defense Ministry Director-General Eyal Samir added, “One of the lessons we’ve learned during the war is our need to boost our independence and industry. This is Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s policy, and we are working on it.”
The post Amid Tensions, Israel Set to Manufacture Helmets Domestically in Move Away From US Dependence first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
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Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
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