Israel and weapons of mass destruction

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Israel is the only country in the Middle East to possess nuclear weapons. [1] Israel is also suspected to possess chemical and biological weapons. [2]

Contents

Israel's stockpile is estimated at 90 to 400 nuclear weapons. [11] It is speculated to operate a nuclear triad of delivery options: by F-15I and F-16I fighters, [a] by submarine-launched cruise missiles, and by Jericho medium and intercontinental range ballistic missiles. [b] [14] [15] [13] Its first deliverable nuclear weapon is estimated to have been completed in late 1966 or early 1967, which would make it the sixth nuclear-armed country. [19]

Israel maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity, choosing not to formally deny or admit the extent of its nuclear, [20] chemical, and biological warfare capabilities; it is the only nuclear-armed country to do so. [2] Citing security threats, Israel rejects international calls to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or to participate in negotiations of a Middle East weapons of mass destruction free zone. [21] [22] [23] Israel's Begin Doctrine describes its pre-emptive strikes against nuclear facilities of other Middle Eastern countries, bombing an Iraqi reactor in 1981, a Syrian reactor in 2007, and Iranian nuclear facilities during the 2025 Iran–Israel war.

Israeli policy rejects open nuclear weapons testing, but it is suspected of carrying out a 1979 covert nuclear test responsible for the Vela incident, as part of its collaboration with the South African nuclear weapons program. [24]

The U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment has recorded Israel as a country generally reported as having undeclared chemical warfare capabilities, and an offensive biological warfare program. [25] Israel carried out biological warfare in Operation Cast Thy Bread, against Palestinians during the 1948 Palestine war. [26] [27]

Terminology

The collective acronym used in Israel for "atomic, biological, and chemical" weapons is the Hebrew acronym: Aleph–Bet–Kaph (Hebrew : אב"כ or אב״ך for Hebrew : אטומית ביולוגית כימית, lit.  'Atomic Biological Chemical'). [c]

Nuclear weapons

It is believed that Israel possessed an operational nuclear weapons capability by 1967, with the mass production of nuclear warheads occurring immediately after the Six-Day War. [25] Experts estimated the stockpile of Israeli nuclear weapons range from 60 to as many as 400. [28] [29] [30] It is unknown if Israel's reported thermonuclear weapons are in the megaton range. [31] Israel is also reported to possess a wide range of different systems, including neutron bombs, tactical nuclear weapons, and suitcase nukes. [32] Israel is believed to manufacture its nuclear weapons at the Negev Nuclear Research Center. [33]

In 2021, Palestine made a declaration to the UN under its ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, that it had never hosted nuclear weapons to its knowledge, and attributing responsibility to Israel for any potential nuclear program-related activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. [34]

On 5 November 2023, amid the Gaza war, Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu stated that the use of atomic weapons in the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip could be "one of the possibilities". He was neither a member the security cabinet nor of the war cabinet, and was subsequently suspended from cabinet meetings. [35] [36]

Nuclear weapons delivery

Nuclear weapons delivery mechanisms include Jericho 3 missiles, with a range of 4,800 km to 6,500 km (though a 2004 source estimated its range at up to 11,500 km), and which are believed to provide a second-strike option, as well as regional coverage from road mobile Jericho 2 IRBMs. Israel's nuclear-capable ballistic missiles are believed to be buried so far underground that they would survive a nuclear attack. [37] [38] Additionally, Israel is believed to have an offshore nuclear second-strike capability, using submarine-launched nuclear-capable cruise missiles, which can be launched from the Israeli Navy's Dolphin-class submarines. [39] The Israeli Air Force has F-15I and F-16I Sufa fighter aircraft which are capable of delivering tactical and strategic nuclear weapons at long distances using conformal fuel tanks and supported by their aerial refueling fleet of modified Boeing 707s. [40]

In 2006, then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appeared to acknowledge that Israel had nuclear weapons when he stated on German TV that Iran was "aspiring to have nuclear weapons as America, France, Israel, Russia". [41] [42] [43] This admission was in contrast to the long-running Israeli government policy of deliberate ambiguity on whether it has nuclear weapons. The policy held that Israel would "not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East." [44] Former International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei regarded Israel as a state possessing nuclear weapons. [45] Much of what is known about Israel's nuclear program comes from revelations in 1986 by Mordechai Vanunu, a technician at the Negev Nuclear Research Center who served an 18-year prison sentence as a result. Israel has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, but supports establishment of a Middle East Zone free of weapons of mass destruction. [46]

Threats during the Gaza war

During the Gaza war, Israeli and US officials have made statements about nuclear weapons and Gaza characterized as genocidal intent. [47] [48] [49] Israeli security analysts have also argued these statements undermine Israeli nuclear ambiguity. [50]

On 9 October 2023, Likud member of the Knesset Tally Gotliv made a Twitter post calling for a nuclear-armed Jericho missile "strategic alert" and the use of a "doomsday weapon". She continued that "Only an explosion that shakes the Middle East will restore this country’s dignity, strength and security!". [51] [52]

Minister of Heritage Amihai Eliyahu responded "That's one way." to an interviewer asking if Israel should drop "some kind of atomic bomb" on Gaza "to kill everyone”. [53] [54] His remarks were criticized by the Israeli opposition, a number of Arab countries, Iran, and China. [55] [56] Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki filed a complaint with the International Atomic Energy Agency arguing the statement was "an official recognition that Israel possesses nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction". [57] Eliyahu was ostensibly suspended from the Israeli cabinet by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but continued to participate in meetings by phone. [48] Eliyahu's father Shmuel Eliyahu, the Chief Rabbi of the city of Safed, repeated the statement: "A nuclear bomb on Gaza is indeed an option!" [47]

US Republican congressmen Lindsey Graham, Tim Walberg, and Randy Fine were criticized for referring to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to support the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip. [58] [59] [60]

Nuclear weapons scholar Vincent Intondi argued that US and Israeli officials' statements are liable to prosecution under the Genocide Convention's incitement clause, but the convention obligates countries to prosecute incitement within their own borders. [47]

Chemical weapons

PDF file of the CIA report as described. This version is partially complete, showing only the relevant passages on Israel. CIA report-on-Israeli-Chemical-Weapons.pdf
PDF file of the CIA report as described. This version is partially complete, showing only the relevant passages on Israel.

Israel has signed but not ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). [61]

In 1993, the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment weapons of mass destruction proliferation assessment recorded Israel as a country generally reported as having undeclared offensive chemical warfare capabilities. [25] Former US deputy assistant secretary of defense responsible for chemical and biological defense Dr. Bill Richardson said in 1998 "I have no doubt that Israel has worked on both chemical and biological offensive things for a long time... There's no doubt they've had stuff for years". [62]

Possible nerve agents

In 1983 a report by the CIA stated that Israel, after "finding itself surrounded by frontline Arab states with budding CW capabilities, became increasingly conscious of its vulnerability to chemical attack... undertook a program of chemical warfare preparations in both offensive and protective areas... In late 1982 a probable CW nerve agent production facility and a storage facility were identified at the Dimona Sensitive Storage Area in the Negev Desert. Other CW agent production is believed to exist within a well-developed Israeli chemical industry". [63] [64]

There are also speculations that a chemical weapons program might be located at the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) [65] in Ness Ziona. [66]

190 liters of dimethyl methylphosphonate, a CWC schedule 2 chemical used in the synthesis of sarin nerve gas, was discovered in the cargo of El Al Flight 1862 after it crashed in 1992 en route to Tel Aviv. Israel said the material was non-toxic and was to have been used to test filters that protect against chemical weapons. It had also been listed on the cargo manifest in accordance with international regulations. The shipment was from a U.S. chemical plant to the IIBR under a U.S. Department of Commerce license. [67]

Use of white phosphorus munitions

An Israeli white phosphorus munition explodes over Gaza, 2009. White phosphorus in Gaza in 2009.jpg
An Israeli white phosphorus munition explodes over Gaza, 2009.

White phosphorus munitions are typically considered an incendiary weapon or smoke agent, and are not listed under the schedules of substances of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention. [68] However, in 2005, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) spokesperson stated that white phosphorus munitions are prohibited under the convention if they have been intentionally used for their caustic properties. [69] Palestine has alleged that Israeli has violated the Chemical Weapons Convention by using white phosphorus. [70]

In the 2008–2009 Gaza War, various human rights groups reported that Israel used white phosphorus munitions against the populated areas in the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip. In July 2009 Israel admitted it had used white phosphorus during the war but not as an anti-personnel weapon. [71]

In the 2014 Gaza War, Human Rights Watch noted that Israel apparently did not use white phosphorus due to previous international criticism. [72]

In October 2023, at the start of the Gaza war, Human Rights Watch verified that Israel used white phosphorus in Gaza City. [73] On 1 December 2023, Palestine gave a statement to the OPCW, calling for an investigation into Israeli white phosphorus use in Gaza as a violation of the CWC, and criticizing Israel for benefitting from its status as a CWC signatory while refusing to ratify the treaty. [70]

Israel also used white phosphorus in southern Lebanon during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict, injuring 173 people between October 2023 and June 2024 according to Human Rights Watch. [74]

Cultural impact

Israeli use of white phosphorus has been an influence in Palestinian art, including cinema, [75] drawings, [76] and poems, [77] as well as international artwork, such as an exhibition by Forensic Architecture. [78] [79]

Use of tear gas

Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, tear gases, formally called riot control agents, are considered chemical weapons and violate the treaty when used as a "method of warfare". [80] Israeli forces have used tear gas against Palestinians, including in the First Intifada, [81] Second Intifada, [82] and 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis. [83] In July 2025, Palestine alleged in a statement to the OPCW that Israel had violated the convention by using riot control agents as a method of warfare. [84]

Biological weapons

Israel is suspected to have developed an offensive biological warfare capability, per the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment. [25] Israel is not a signatory to the Biological Weapons Convention. [85] It is assumed that the Israel Institute for Biological Research in Ness Ziona develops vaccines and antidotes for chemical and biological warfare. [86] It is speculated that Israel retains an active ability to produce and disseminate biological weapons, likely as a result of its extremely complex biodefense program. [8] [87] Israel has taken steps to strengthen its export control regulations on dual-use biotechnologies. [8]

In 2025, Palestine cited its occupation by Israel as preventing full compliance with its 2018 ratification of the Biological Weapons Convention. [88] [89] In a statement to a UN working group on strengthening the convention, its mission wrote "we cannot guarantee whether any biological weapons, agents, or facilities exist or are produced on our land, including in illegal settlements, nor can we ensure effective customs control over such agents or their potential use by armed settlers." [88]

Biological warfare in the 1948 Palestine War

This section is an excerpt from Operation Cast Thy Bread.[ edit ]
Operation Cast Thy Bread was a top-secret biological warfare operation conducted by the Haganah and later the Israel Defense Forces which began in April 1948, during the 1948 Palestine war. The Haganah used typhoid bacteria to contaminate drinking water wells in violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. Its objective was to frighten and prevent Palestinian Arabs from returning to villages captured by the Yishuv and make conditions difficult for Arab armies attempting to retake territories. The operation resulted in severe illness among local Palestinian citizens. In the final months of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Israel gave orders to expand the biological warfare campaign into neighboring Arab states such as Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria, but they were not carried out. Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion and IDF chief of general staff Yigael Yadin oversaw and approved the use of biological warfare. [90] [91]

Pre-state militants

After the declaration of independence, the members of the various pre-state militant groups mostly joined the IDF, including the controversial Lehi militant group. [92] The Lehi militant who built the bombs for Operation Samson in 1947, the intended suicide attack in Jerusalem Central Prison in 1947, later had a leadership role in the Israeli military's nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons division (Hebrew : אב״כ). [c] [93] [92] [94] [95] He originally enlisted using his girlfriend's surname. [96] [92] Much of his work was purely defensive, such as the development of gas masks, but even that was conducted in great secrecy. [97]

Notes

  1. ↑ F-15I and F-16I squadrons are both speculated to be assigned nuclear roles, while it is also speculated the F-35I has a nuclear capability. [12]
  2. ↑ The exact range of Jericho III missile is unclear, estimated from 4,000 km to over 5,500 km, while an intercontinental range is over 5,500 km. The Jericho II missile is believed to have an medium range of 1,500 km. [13]
  3. 1 2 The Hebrew acronym אב״כ Aleph Betַ Kaph can also be written אב״ך with the terminal form of the latter Kaph, and the Gershayim is usually substituted with a double apostrophe or double quote mark.

References

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  47. 1 2 3 Intondi, Vincent (July 2, 2024). "The Threat of Nuclear Bombing and Incitement to Genocide". Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament. 7 (2): 528–535. doi:10.1080/25751654.2024.2396670. ISSN   2575-1654.
  48. 1 2 "Commentary: Nuclear weapons, Israel and Gaza". ICAN. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
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  86. ↑ "Nes Ziyyona". GlobalSecurity.org. April 28, 2005. Retrieved February 11, 2007. Israel is believed to have the capacity to produce chemical warfare agents, and probably has stocks of bombs, rockets, and artillery shells. Public reports that a mustard and nerve gas production facility was established in 1982 in the Dimona restricted area are apparently erroneous. Israel is also probably poised to rapidly produce biological weapons, though there are no public reports of currently active production effort or associated locations.…Israel's primary chemical and biological warfare facility is at Nes Ziyyona [Noss Ziona], near Tel Aviv. The Israeli Institute for Bio-Technology is believed to be the home of both offensive and defensive research.
  87. ↑ Normark, Magnus; Anders Lindblad; Anders Norqvist; Björn Sandström; Louise Waldenström (December 2005). "Israel and WMD: Incentives and Capabilities" (PDF). FOI. p. 38. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 8, 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2007. Israel does not stockpile or produce BW in large-scale today. However, we assess that Israel has a breakout capability for biological weapons and also CW, i.e. the knowledge needed to implement theoretical knowledge into the practical management of production and deployment of CBW. The knowledge base would be the one that was built during the 1950s and 1960s where today's advanced research can be used to upgrade potential BW and CW agents and their behaviour in the environment. We have not found any conclusive evidence that show that Israel's offensive programs still remain active today.
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  90. ↑ Morris, Benny; Kedar, Benjamin Z. (2023). "'Cast thy bread': Israeli biological warfare during the 1948 War" . Middle Eastern Studies . 59 (5): 752–776. doi:10.1080/00263206.2022.2122448. ISSN   0026-3206. S2CID   252389726.
  91. ↑ Aderet, Ofer (October 14, 2022). "'Place the Material in the Wells': Docs Point to Israeli Army's 1948 Biological Warfare". Haaretz. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  92. 1 2 3 אלבז-אלוש, קורין (May 24, 2023). חיל החלוץ: צה"ל חוגג 75, ואלו שהתגייסו עם הקמתו זוכרים איך הכול התחיל [Pioneer Corps: The IDF celebrates 75 years, and those who enlisted when it was founded remember how it all began]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. [… 'I enlisted under a false name … I chose to enlist as Eliezer Reznitzky. I took the last name of my girlfriend, who waited for me for five years while I was in prison and later became my wife. I knew that Mapai did not want the borders of the country that I wanted and that the IDF would not be the liberation army of the people of Israel, so I acted like I did in the underground, where we had nicknames … Only when I received the rank of sergeant did I return to my original last name' … Ben Ami enlisted in the 8th Brigade, the first armored brigade under the command of Yitzhak Sadeh. From there he transferred to the Engineering Corps, then to Armaments, and back to Engineering. He took the first Engineering Officers' Course, graduated with honors, and went on to hold a variety of positions: bomb disposal officer, sabotage instructor, and head of the ABC branch.] — Note: The name is Hebrew: אליעזר רזניצקי, romanized: Eliezer Reznitsky, and the acronym is Hebrew: אב"כ, romanized: A.B.C. with the letters Aleph–Bet–Kaph, which stands for "atomic, biological, and chemical".
  93. ↑ Hebrew version: שם: בן־עמי (חסין) אליעזר – כינוי בלח״י: יחזקאל [Name: Ben-Ami (Chissin) Eliezer – Nickname in Lehi: Yehezkel]. lehi.org.il/he (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. בין תפקידיו המרובים: מדריך חבלה, סילוק פצצות, קצין ייצור, מפקד סדנא, ראש מדור ניסויים, מג"ד 276 ורע"נ אב"כ. (ראש ענף אטומית ביולוגית כימית). ביום 20 באפריל 1948 נשא אליעזר לאישה את חברתו מהלח"י דרורה גלעדי (רזניצקי), אותה הכיר בשנת 1943. נולדו להם: ארנון, דורון ורווית, ונכדים.[Among his many positions: sabotage instructor, bomb disposal, production officer, workshop commander, head of the experimental section, battalion commander 276 and senior engineer in A.B.C. (head of the Atomic Biological Chemical Branch). On 20 April 1948, Eliezer married his girlfriend from Lehi, Drora Giladi (Reznitzky), whom he had met in 1943.]English translation: "Ben-Ami (Chissin) Eliezer – "Yechezkel" – Freedom Fighters of Israel Heritage Association". lehi.org.il/en.Translation note: In Hebrew it uses the acronyms Hebrew: רע"נ אב"כ, romanized:  Resh.Ayn.Nun. Aleph.Bet.Kaph. then expands them in brackets as Hebrew: ראש ענף אטומית ביולוגית כימית, lit.  'Branch head Atomic Biological Chemical'.
  94. ↑ ברוך דיין האמת: נפטר לוחם לח"י אליעזר בן עמי. סרוגים (in Hebrew). August 15, 2023. לאחר הקמת המדינה התגייס לצה"ל ושירת בחיל ההנדסה ובחיל החימוש, ובין תפקידו השונים הוא שימש מדריך חבלה, סילוק פצצות, קצין ייצור, מפקד סדנא, ראש מדור ניסויים, מג"ד 276 ורע"נ אב"כ. (Hebrew: רע"נ אב"כ, lit.  'head of WMDs')
  95. ↑ לוחמים / אליעזר "יחזקאל" בן עמי (לח"י) [Fighters / Eliezer "Yehezkel" Ben Ami (Lehi)]. שי אלוני shayaloni.co.il (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on May 13, 2025. בן עמי היה זה שתכנן ויצר את שני "רימוני התפוז" בתוך כתלי בית הכלא, עבור משה ברזני (לח"י) ומאיר פיינשטין (אצ"ל), שפוצצו עצמם למוות כשלוש שעות לפני הוצאתם לגרדום. ב 1948, לאחר שחרורו מהכלא שב לפעילות בלח"י עד לפרוק המחתרת. בן עמי התגייס לצה"ל לחטיבה 8 עם כל לוחמי לח"י, בהמשך עבר להנדסה ולחיל החימוש. עסק בפיתוח אמצעי לחימה. בוגר ביה"ס לפיקוד ומטה. בין תפקידיו הרבים בצבא: מדריך חבלה וסילוק פצצות, קצין יצור, מפקד סדנא, ראש מדור ניסויים, מג"ד 276 וראש ענף לוחמת אב"כ. ב 1969, השתחרר מ צה"ל בדרגת סא"ל.
  96. ↑ Elbaz Alush, Korin (May 25, 2023). "In honor of IDF's 75th anniversary, first recruits share stories from the frontlines". Ynetnews . "I enlisted under a false name," he said. "I chose to enlist as Eliezer Reznitsky. I took the last name of my girlfriend, who waited for me for five years while I was in prison, and later she became my wife. I knew that the [Ben-Gurion's] Mapai Party didn't want the borders I wanted for the country, and that the IDF wouldn't be the liberation army of the Israeli nation. So, I acted as I did underground, where we had nicknames. I changed my last name so that I wouldn't be recognized, in case I needed to fight beyond the borders that the IDF set. Only when I received the rank of sergeant did I return to my original last name." Ben-Ami … went on to fulfill various roles: sapper, explosives instructor, and also higher-ranking roles. (Note, this is an English version, not a direct translation of the story in Hebrew edition)
  97. ↑ החדר האטום הראשון. Haaretz הארץ – Hebrew edition (in Hebrew). October 19, 2005. Archived from the original on May 13, 2025.
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