\u201cHeroes fell\u201d because they didn\u2019t have the ammunition they needed, he charged. And \u201cpart of that absent ammunition was because of the embargo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t Netanyahu said he has resolved that this will never be allowed to happen again, and that is why he is determined to ensure that Israel has its own strong and independent arms industry, repeating his declaration from earlier this month that he hoped to make Israel less dependent on US military aid in the next decade.<\/p>\n To that end, he said, he is aiming to shift the Israel-US relationship \u201cfrom aid to partnership,\u201d when it comes to weapons, with Israeli development and joint production, and that such a partnership could extend to allies, including India and Germany as well.<\/p>\n Netanyahu said he has prioritized establishing a robust domestic army industry \u201cfor maximal independence\u2026 so we don\u2019t run out of weapons or ammunition, and in the hope that we won\u2019t have to use them.\u201d<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s accusation is an apparent effort to explain comments he made<\/a> in an interview with The Economist during which he claimed that Israel lost soldiers in Gaza because of his \u201crefusal\u201d to \u201ccarpet bomb\u201d cities before the Israel Defense Forces invaded them on foot.<\/p>\n Critics of the premier pointed out that his Likud party repeatedly blasted political rival and former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz for making similar comments to foreign press while explaining the Israeli military\u2019s efforts to avoid civilian casualties.<\/p>\n Biden aides: Netanyahu \u2018not telling the truth,\u2019 \u2018ungrateful\u2019<\/p>\n Amos Hochstein, one of former president Biden\u2019s top aides, said the prime minister was lying.<\/p>\n \u201cNetanyahu is both not telling the truth and ungrateful to a president that literally saved Israel at its most vulnerable moment,\u201d Amos Hochstein told the Axios news site, moments after the prime minister made the claim.<\/p>\n In further remarks on X, Hochstein wrote that \u201cAfter more than $20 Billion military support, largest in Israel[i] history, two aircraft carriers rushed to the region, deterring a massive regional war, defeating Iran missile and drone attack twice, defending Israel at most vulnerable moments, after SAVING countless lives of Israelis \u2013 only acceptable response to US president Biden and American people is THANK YOU.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Hochstein was joined by fellow top Biden aide Brett McGurk, who told Axios, \u201cThat statement by Netanyahu is categorically false.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBiden left office with a ceasefire in Gaza and hostages coming home, a ceasefire in Lebanon with Hezbollah defeated, Iran in its weakest position since 1979 after two failed missile attacks thanks to the deployment of US military forces and a coordinated response that destroyed Iran\u2019s air defenses. His commitment to Israel\u2019s security to include US military assistance was unwavering throughout the crisis,\u201d McGurk said of Biden.<\/p>\n Former US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, who served under Biden, also took issue with Netanyahu\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is wrong. Biden\u2019s support for Israel has been rock solid, and he did it at enormous political cost,\u201d Nides told the Ynet news site.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tFriends and family attend the funeral of IDF soldier Sgt. Shlomo Yakir Shrem at the military cemetery in Kfar Etzion, July 15, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20241120__36MV89C__v2__HighRes__LebanonUsIsraelPalestinianConflictDiplomacy-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUS special envoy Amos Hochstein talks to reporters following his meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (not pictured) in Beirut on November 20, 2024. (AFP)<\/p>\n
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