A Pentagon inspector general report released last week concluded that the Department of Defense did not properly track significant portions of the $13.4 billion in military aid sent to support Israel following Hamas’ deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
As of November 2024, the Pentagon maintained records for only 44% of the defense articles subject to enhanced monitoring, the report found, down from 69% before the war in Gaza began.
Investigators said the oversight gaps were driven by staffing constraints and changes in the operational environment in Israel, and warned that such lapses increase the risk of sensitive U.S. weapons technology falling into the hands of hostile actors.
“Without effective accountability, these [enhanced end-use monitoring, or EEUM] defense articles could be acquired by adversaries in the region,” the report stated. “Adversaries who obtain EEUM defense articles would have firsthand access and knowledge of sensitive U.S. weapon systems technology, decreasing the technological advantage in the battlefield and increasing the risk to the United States, partner nations, and allies.”
The partially redacted audit did not detail the types of defense articles involved.
Federal law, under the Arms Export Control Act, requires oversight of defense articles sold, leased or exported to foreign partners through end-use monitoring programs.
The investigation also determined U.S. Central Command and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency “did not conduct adequate oversight of the EEUM program in Israel.”
Between October 2023 and April 2024, officials said they were unable to track 42 deliveries of more than four million munitions because much of the equipment had already been deployed in Israel’s ongoing military operations.
CENTCOM faced similar challenges during the Iraq War from 2013 to 2017, when the hostile environment limited appraisals, according to the report.
The Inspector General proposed that CENTCOM conduct either an in-person or remote Security Cooperation Organization inspection of the Office of Defense Cooperation-Israel in fiscal year 2026, a proposal the command has agreed to implement.
The findings come as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, which took effect in mid-October, led to the release of the last 20 surviving hostages in the war-torn enclave in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The U.S. has provided Israel with more than $200 billion in military and economic assistance since World War II.
