On December 8, the UAE launched a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with more than 100 countries participating and voting in the UN Security Council. However, the vote turned out to be disappointing because the United States vetoed the resolution. Specifically, 13 countries voted in favor, one voted against (the United States) and one abstained (the United Kingdom). This is the 35th time since 1970 that the United States has vetoed a resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli issue (39 votes in total). The US veto indicates that the prospects for a Palestinian-Israeli humanitarian ceasefire have become very slim. Robert Wood, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, explained: "We do not support a resolution calling for an unsustainable ceasefire, because that would only sow the seeds for the next war." "However, it is clear that the US explanation is unjustified, because only a ceasefire can advance peace talks and ensure that peace arrives sooner rather than later. After the U.S. vetoed the resolution, Israel also behaved very toughly. Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Gilad Edan, insists that a true ceasefire can only be achieved through the complete destruction of Hamas. No matter who dissuades it, it won't help, and Israel won't give up. Even when the United States issued a warning in a very clear way, Israel chose to refuse.
Israel now feels like no one can persuade them, and they insist on a path to the end. Israel's goal is to take complete control of Gaza, and even Israel's finance minister has made the same statement. The statement of the Israeli finance minister shows that Israel will not give up easily. All United Nations agencies have issued statements, but Israel has not taken them seriously, and it continues to intensify its offensive against Gaza and refuses to send any fuel to Gaza, even if the United Nations agencies need it. Israel's Iron Dome system has reached an overload and is facing the dilemma of not being able to use it normally, and at the same time, the consumption of ammunition has been unable to be effectively supported, so it urgently requested support from the United States and other Western countries. Although Israel is known as a petty bully in the Middle East due to its strong military power, it is relatively small in terms of land area and population. In addition, the internal political struggle in Israel has been fierce for many years, and disputes between various interest groups have also brought many troubles to the development of the country. Although Israel has no big problem dealing with Hamas in Gaza and has even begun to storm the heart of Gaza City, the dilemma facing Israel is also beginning to emerge.
Israel's well-known Iron Dome system has begun to run short of interceptor missiles, while other munitions in Israel's stockpile are also facing a general emergency. In addition, due to excessive consumption, Israel has also begun to experience difficulties in funding and has been forced to request emergency assistance from the United States and other Western countries. It has been learned that Israel has applied to the United States, Germany, Britain, France, and other Western countries for assistance in emergency combat materials and ammunition and equipment. The United States has authorized Israel to use the ammunition supplies stockpiled by the United States in Israel to ensure that Israel's fighting needs are met. It can be seen that after more than a month of fighting, Israel can no longer continue to support itself on its own. In response to this emergency, the United States has sent dozens of transport planes to deliver ** ammunition to Israel, and even urgently transferred ammunition originally planned to assist Ukraine to Israel. In order to achieve its own combat objectives, Israel has basically done whatever it takes, regardless of the number of civilian casualties. Since the outbreak of the conflict, Israeli military operations in Gaza have resulted in more than 10,000 civilian deaths, including more than 4,000 children, and the civilian death toll has exceeded the scale of the fifth Middle East war.
Israel's ammunition delivery is too large to be supported by its own strength and must rely on external support. After the outbreak of the conflict, the speed at which the United States sent ** to Israel increased by more than five times. Recently, the United States has specially deployed a number of transport planes to deliver ** and ammunition to Israel, and implemented 24-hour uninterrupted transportation. This action includes not only the delivery of domestic munitions, but also the movement of munitions from stockpiles across Europe to Israel. In addition, a large amount of ** ammunition previously sent by the United States to Ukraine was also urgently diverted to Israel. According to reports, Biden plans to provide Israel with a total value of 3The $200 million "Spice" series of bomb components, i.e. the components of precision guidance**. In addition, the United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in arms to Israel through emergency allocations. In addition to transport aircraft, the United States is also focused on transporting goods to Israel using transport ships and other means. It is worth mentioning that Germany's arms sales to Israel have increased tenfold and it fully supports the supply of arms to Israel**. Germany quickly increased its military aid to Israel in the face of Israel's excessive consumption of ammunition and the urgent need for Western assistance.
So far this year, Germany has approved a tenfold increase in exports of military equipment to Israel, according to official figures. The German side made it clear that it would give priority to Israel's ammunition needs in the event that it was difficult to guarantee military assistance to Ukraine. According to data from November 2 of this year, Germany has approved exports to Israel worth 30.3 billion euros of military equipment, compared to 32 million euros last year. Germany has also set up a special office to ensure that the delivery of ** to Israel can be accelerated. In order to meet Israel's ammunition needs, Germany has set up a working group consisting of the Ministry of Economy and the Export Control Office. It is reported that since October 7, Germany has processed 185 applications for the purchase of military equipment from Israel. Germany is one of the countries with the strongest support for Israel after the United States, and its support is also the most active. Even if Israel's military actions led to a serious humanitarian catastrophe, Germany did not care and insisted on the most high-profile pro-Israeli position. It is worth noting that the United Kingdom and other NATO countries also fully support Israel. As a small country, Israel would simply not be able to sustain high-intensity military operations without the support of the United States and Western countries.
In fact, the most fundamental reason why Israel was able to win in the previous Middle East wars was because of the support of Western countries led by the United States. With the United States providing the most ** and ammunition assistance, Germany has also supported Israel in a high-profile manner, the United Kingdom has announced its public support, and NATO has also expressed its military support for Israel. Although many European countries understand that this conflict will cause great harm to Europe, they still have to support Israel, which shows Israel's influence within the West. Israel faces many difficulties in fighting on multiple fronts, and the urgent request for support from the United States and Western countries also illustrates the urgency of the problem. In this battle, Israel mobilized not only 170,000 regular troops but also 300,000 reservists against only 30,000 Hamas militants, demonstrating the depth of Israel's predicament. In addition to the confrontation with the Hamas forces, Israel faces fighting Allah in the north and an indiscriminate attack on Syria. In addition, Yemen's Houthis have joined the fighting. Therefore, Israel's urgent request for Western support is also due to its own multiple predicaments.
Israel's performance in this battle is unsatisfactory, and its overall strength cannot be sustained. According to official Israeli figures, more than 400 people have been killed, including 3 colonels, 6 lieutenant colonels, 22 majors, 19 captains, 31 lieutenants and 6 second lieutenants, and more than 1,000 wounded. It is indeed surprising that Israel has suffered such huge ** and losses in the context of a clear disadvantage in the strength of the war. Israeli tanks, armored vehicles and other military equipment were frequently blown up and suffered heavy losses. In addition, Israel has mobilized 300,000 reservists, with a military ratio of 1:10 to the total population. In stark contrast, the ratio of active military personnel to the total population of the permanent members of the UN Security Council is much lower than in Israel, with China at about 1:600, the United States at about 1:200, and Russia before 2022 at about 1:140. This shows that the majority of Israel's population is involved in the military, while the number of people engaged in production and business is extremely limited. In view of this situation, Israel has begun to disband some of its reservists, retaining only a small number of them.
It is clear that Israel is currently facing a number of difficulties, such as poor combat performance, a shortage of ammunition, huge financial pressures, and possibly even the risk of economic collapse. As it continues to be mired in a protracted conflict, Israel is likely to face even more serious costs in the future. Although it is currently supported by the United States and Western countries, this support is not sustainable. Obviously, getting bogged down in war is not good news for Israel. It is therefore of paramount importance that peace be restored as soon as possible.