Will weapons used on Palestinians help boost Israeli military tech sales?

Israel's invasion of Gaza, that involves use of sophisticated weapons and technology against the besieged population, does not appear to be about defeating Hamas or reoccupying the tiny enclave only.

It can spur surge in Israeli military tech sales and possible catapult Tel Aviv to the forefront of military innovation. That's what Israel's Economy Minister, Nir Barkat has suggested during his tour to UAE.

With tensions reaching a fever pitch in the Middle East, Barkat's revelation has once again thrust the Israeli military juggernaut into a blazing spotlight.

Attending a World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Barkat said the war's domestic impact on Israel was "not something Israel cannot bear mid to long term".

He estimated the total cost at 150-200 billion shekels, or roughly $50 billion, regardless of the war's duration.

"You should always realise in the wars Israel had we had a dip in the economy but immediately after we had a huge spike back of innovation. And the knowledge and the experience Israel is gathering in this round of violence is second to none," said Barkat, who is a member of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and widely seen as his potential successor.

After 144 days of what the Israeli minister says will be the driving factor for Tel Aviv's next-gen warfare, Israel has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians, predominantly children and women, with 70,215 others wounded.

Uptick in arms transfers from US to Israel

Recent developments have underscored an intricate web of military cooperation between the US and Israel.

An investigation by US media outlet Axios has revealed a significant uptick in arms transfers from the US to Israel, totaling at least 16 distinct categories of weaponry in the current year alone.

A leaked inventory from the Department of Defense, obtained by Bloomberg, sheds light on the breadth of this assistance, encompassing bunker-buster munitions, state-of-the-art army vehicles, 155 mm shells, and precision-guided weaponry such as the Lockheed Martin Hellfire missiles dispatched to Israeli forces.

By Israeli army own assertion its utilisation of artificial intelligence (AI) to dynamically designate numerous targets in Gaza has given it an upper hand.

Under the moniker "the Gospel," Israel's AI system is purported to expedite the identification of targets in its ongoing assault of Gaza.

Israel's 'competitive advantage'

Barkat also noted Israel had held a lot of meetings during the four-day WTO meeting about what he called Israel's "competitive advantage", referring to its high-tech economy and significant number of entrepreneurs across various sectors.

One of those sectors is homeland security.

"Especially after this war I think we are probably going to be leading many, many initiatives on what next-generation warfare is going to look like," said Barkat.

Asked if those interested included countries, whose relations with Israel have been strained by Israel's more than four-month war against Palestinians, he said there was high interest from around the world.

According to an initial estimate by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, its $500 billion economy contracted an annual 19.4 percent in the fourth quarter from the prior three months.