💲 The genocide in Gaza has proven extraordinarily lucrative for US corporations. A select group of US defense contractors, tech giants, and heavy equipment manufacturers have made bns from Israel’s two-year assault on Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 68k Palestinians — an official figure that does not count missing persons or “nonviolent” deaths from starvation, disease, and the collapse of healthcare systems.

The numbers tell a damning story. Israel’s military budget has surged by 65% in the past year to reach USD 46.5 bn, one of the highest per capita globally, with much of this amount flowing to US companies. Since October 2023, Washington has approved more than USD 32 bn in armaments, ammunition, and other equipment to the Israeli military, according to the Wall Street Journal, creating what amounts to an unprecedented weapons pipeline that continues to flow even as international condemnation mounts. Since the ceasefire has taken effect, Trump has sought congressional approval to sell an additional USD 6 bn in weapons to Israel, including USD 3.8 bn for Apache helicopters that would nearly double the occupying state’s current fleet.

Boeing has secured the most Israeli business, with the US greenlighting a USD 18.8 bn sale of F-15 strike fighters and USD 7.9 bn-worth of guided bombs and associated kits. For Boeing, which has struggled with supplydisruptions, manufacturing scandals, and labor strikes, international arms sales have been a bright spot on its 2024 earnings report, which noted that its defense subsidiary received a boost from “solid demand as governments prioritize security, defense technology, and global cooperation given evolving threats.”

The weaponmakers’ windfall: Other major defense contractors have similarly profited from Palestinian suffering. Companies securing approved weapons sales include Northrop Grumman, which provides spare parts for jet fighters; Lockheed Martin, a supplier of high-powered precision missiles; and General Dynamics, a provider of the 120mm shells that Israel’s Merkava tanks fire. Lockheed Martin noted in its most recent annualreport that it had benefited from increased US defense funding related to Israel, with revenue at its missiles division rising 13% to USD 12.7 bn.

Silicon Valley has also happily taken Israel’s money, with tech giants providing the country with the digital infrastructure to surveil, target, and kill Palestinians with ruthless efficiency. Microsoft, Google-parent Alphabet, and Amazon have provided Israel “virtually government-wide access” to advanced data processing systems that underpin both military operations and the discriminatory permit regime Palestinians face under occupation. Before October 2023, these companies had all clinched deals with Israel to provide AI- and cloud-computing services to its military.

Palantir Technologies, the AI firm co-founded by Trump ally Peter Thiel, has also been a huge benefactor (and beneficiary) of Israel’s attacks. Ironically named after an object in the Lord of the Rings universe, the author of which famously hated war, Palantir entered into a partnership with the IDF in January 2024, and is suspected of powering AI systems being used to identify potential “targets,” send drones into their homes, and carry out military strikes without human intervention. When confronted in May 2025, CEO Alex Karp responded that the Palestinians being killed were “mostly terrorists.” Palantir noted in its 2024 annual report that “aren’t material to its financial results.”

The machine in “killing machine.” The physical destruction of Gaza has enriched manufacturers of heavy equipment — Caterpillar’s D9 armored bulldozers are ubiquitous in Gaza, being used to demolish residences and other structures, and continuously used to leave behind the Star of David on destroyed Palestinian land. Israel’s Eitan armored vehicles are equipped with a hull from Wisconsin-based Oshkosh, and an engine made by Rolls-Royce. Oshkosh has acknowledged that an Israeli order of tactical vehicles extended the lifespan of a production line that was due to shut down.

Bankrolling death: Israel has helped pay for their armaments and consequent deep budget deficits by selling treasury bonds, with some of the world’s largest banks — including BNP Paribas and Barclays — underwriting these bonds to boost market confidence despite Israel’s credit downgrade. Asset management firms — including Pimco and Vanguard — have been major buyers of these bonds. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has increased its investment in Israeli companies by 32% since October 2023.

UN Special Rapporteur Fransesca Albanese presented to the UN HRC a report that names over 60 companies involved in what she terms an economy of genocide. “While life in Gaza is being obliterated and the West Bank is under escalating assault, this report shows why Israel’s genocide continues: because it is lucrative for many,” Albanese wrote, accusing corporate entities of being “financially bound to Israel’s apartheid and militarism,” arguing that “Israel’s forever-occupation has become the ideal testing ground for arms manufacturers and Big Tech — providing significant supply and demand, little oversight, and zero accountability — while investors and private and public institutions [make money] freely.”

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