EXPLAINER
Israel signed several record multibillion-dollar gas, technology and military deals with its trading partners last year.
Israel signed a record number of multibillion-dollar gas, technology and military deals in 2025.
One of its most prominent deals came in December when Prime Minister Netanyahu approved the largest energy deal in Israel’s history. The contract will supply Egypt with up to $35bn worth of gas through 2040 from the Leviathan field, further deepening the North African country’s energy dependence on Israel amid its ongoing energy crisis.
Egypt, which established diplomatic ties with Israel in 1979, stated that the deal was a “purely commercial” arrangement and that there are no “political dimensions”, especially amid mounting public anger over Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Israel has also signed several record multibillion-dollar deals in the technology and military sectors in 2025, profiting largely from selling military and surveillance equipment that has been “battle-tested” in Palestine and across the region.
US tech giant Google (Alphabet) is finalising its $32bn acquisition of cybersecurity company Wiz, while Nvidia has committed $1.5bn to establish Israel’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) data centre, located about 30km (19 miles) from Haifa.
In Europe, Israel’s $6.5bn Arrow 3 deal with Germany features an advanced defence system for intercepting long-range ballistic missiles, making it the largest military export in Israel’s history.
In this story, Al Jazeera unpacks some of the largest publicly disclosed deals signed with Israel in 2025.
Some of the biggest public deals signed with Israel in 2025 include:
$35bn deal with Egyptian energy companies: A long-term agreement for the export of 130 billion cubic metres of natural gas linked to the Leviathan field is set to run from 2026 to 2040. This was the largest public deal Israel signed in 2025.
$32bn deal with Alphabet: Google’s parent company, Alphabet, acquired the Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz, marking one of the largest technology deals in Israel’s history. The acquisition is currently awaiting a final antitrust decision from the European Commission, which is due by February 10, 2026.
$25bn deal with Palo Alto Networks: Palo Alto Networks announced the acquisition of CyberArk, an Israeli cybersecurity company. The deal is likely to be finalised in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.
$3.1bn deal with Germany: In December, Germany approved a substantial $3.1bn expansion to an existing Arrow 3 missile defence contract, bringing the total deal to $6.5bn and making it Israel’s largest military export agreement.
$3bn deal with Xero: In late 2025, Xero, a New Zealand-based technology company that specialises in cloud-based accounting software, acquired the Israeli fintech company Melio, making it the largest outbound acquisition in New Zealand.
$2.6bn deal with Munich Re: In March, Munich Re, a German multinational insurance company, acquired the Israeli-founded Next Insurance.
$1.5bn deal with Nvidia: In December 2025, Nvidia confirmed an investment of $1.5bn to establish a massive AI server farm in the Mevo Carmel industrial zone south of Haifa. This facility is designed to house Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell AI processors and will be Nvidia’s largest research and development hub outside the United States.
Israel’s top trading partners
Trade data over a longer period provides important context for why these countries appear repeatedly in Israel’s biggest deals. Between 2019 and 2023, the country’s trade relationships were heavily concentrated among a small group of partners, with the top 10 accounting for more than half of total trade.
Between 2019 and 2023, Israel’s top trading partners were:
United States – 18.9 percent of total trade worth $140.9bn
China – 11.6 percent worth $86.5bn
Germany – 5.5 percent worth $40.9bn
Turkiye – 4.8 percent worth $35.7bn
Switzerland and the Netherlands – 3.1 percent each worth $23.1bn
What are Israel’s primary imports and exports?
Its global trade in 2024 consisted of $91.5bn in imports and $61.7bn in exports.
Some of Israel’s top imports include:
Electrical machinery, electronics and mechanical appliances, worth approximately $19bn
Vehicles, including cars, trucks, buses and planes, worth about $10bn
Chemical products, including pharmaceuticals, worth $8bn
Mineral products, including petroleum, coal and cement, worth $7bn
Gems and jewellery, including diamonds, worth $4bn
Some of Israel’s top exports include:
Electrical machinery, electronics and mechanical appliances worth some $18bn
Chemical products, including pharmaceuticals, worth $10bn
Gems and jewellery, including polished diamonds, worth $9bn
Optical, technical and medical apparatus worth $7bn
Mineral products worth $5bn
Israel’s electronics sector is a key engine of its export economy, led by significant players like Intel, which runs large-scale chip fabrication facilities, as well as companies such as Elbit Systems and Orbotech, known for their expertise in military electronics and advanced manufacturing.
Israel is a leading exporter of pharmaceuticals, driven by companies such as Teva Pharmaceuticals, one of the world’s largest generic drug manufacturers.
It is also a global leader in the diamond trade, importing billions of dollars’ worth of rough diamonds, which are then cut, polished and processed domestically before being exported.
