A classified document obtained by the Jerusalem Post reveals the extent of the demand for military equipment in the weeks following the October 7 massacre.
The document was presented in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on October 23, includes nearly 350 requests for military equipment gathered by an ad-hoc call center that Members of Knesset formed in the days after the massacre.
Notably, many of the requests came from regular-army units, and not just from reserve units, including special units. A large number of the requests came from combat reserve units, and others came from military medical personnel and even from the air force. Other requests came from specific individuals, and one even came from a municipality.
Frequently demanded items
The most common request was for bulletproof tactical vests, with a demand for approximately 4,000. Next were an aggregated approximately 2,500 military helmets, approximately 2,000 out of them specifically for lighter tactical helmets; approximately 600 special military knee pads (“Robocop”, “Ninja,” or silicon); Approximately 200 medical related equipment, including 150 tourniquets and a number of fully equipped medical kits for doctors and medics; 40 reflector sights; and 20 rifles.
Other notable requests in large numbers included tactical gloves, commando knives, tactical uniforms, and warm clothing; other requests in smaller numbers included night-vision goggles, laser pointers, and tactical flashlights.
The demand for military equipment was likely much larger, as Members of Knesset redirected many requests directly to donors without inserting them into the document. However, the document sheds new details on the scope of the demand for equipment in the first two weeks of the war.
The lack of equipment was widely reported during the first days after the war. IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a statement on October 9 that there “no equipment lacking,” and that “patience was required,” adding that “even if it takes more time, everything will arrive.”
Hagari said that the complaints stemmed from the fact that over 300,000 reservists had reported for duty, an unprecedented number, and that in some reserve units, recruitment levels reached 200%, meaning that over double of the amount of personnel that were summoned showed up. Hagari also stressed that commando-level tactical gear was not necessary for every unit and therefore that not all of the requests were critical.
However, Members of the Knesset interviewed on the matter criticized the army’s conduct. According to MK Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beytenu), who was part of a team of MKs treating the issue, the hundreds of requests outside of the chain of command showed that the facts on the ground were that there was much equipment missing. According to Malinovsky, the IDF was ignoring reality and was unwilling to ease some of its restrictions in order to accept at least part of the equipment. The IDF even lied knowingly about how much equipment it had, Malinovsky claimed. While the IDF was, justifiably, concerned at the time that the donations would include sub-par equipment that could endanger troops, Malinovsky said that the army’s aloof and inflexible attitude showed that ego played a part as well, as the IDF did not want to be viewed as unprepared. Malinovsky even said that this attitude was a symptom of a deeper systemic problem in the IDF of aloofness and inflexibility – traits, she said, that contributed to the intelligence and operational failures of October 7.
MK Oded Forer (Yisraek Beytenu), who dealt in the Knesset War Room with obtaining rifles for civilian first-response teams, also said that the IDF had not been truthful about the real situation on the ground. Regarding rifles, Forer said that he and other MKs argued with officials in the Israel Police and IDF to enable small towns, especially those near Israel’s borders, to obtain rifles. Only after the document described above was presented to the Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee, the IDF began to cooperate slightly more and began to take the MK’s involvement seriously, Forer said.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in response, “Due to the vast reporting [for service] of reservists at the start of the conflict, the IDF purchased tens of thousands of protection gear for the combat soldiers’ use. Throughout the war, the IDF has repeatedly stressed that the procurement of combat military equipment is organized in an orderly and professional manner. The IDF acts continuously to ensure that the donations that are received pass the necessary examinations – both in the context of the quality of the equipment and its appropriateness to its purpose, and in ensuring the necessary safety standard. Donated equipment that does not meet the IDF’s standard will be prohibited from use. All units of the army are issued equipment that meets the standard, and according to the quantities that correspond to the structure and organization of the field units for battle.”
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report
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