DaysofPal – Recently uncovered documents reveal that Pyramex Industries, a UK-based company headquartered in Durham, exported more than 1,000 ammunition containers to Israeli arms giant Elbit Systems since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023—raising urgent questions about Britain’s arms export oversight amid allegations of genocide.
Investigations by Declassified UK and The Dutch News show that at least 16 separate shipments—totaling over 135 tons of ammunition storage containers—were sent via the Israeli port of Ashdod, using vessels operated by the controversial ZIM shipping company. Notably, 360 of those containers were delivered in April 2025, coinciding with Israel’s intensified aerial bombardment, siege policies, and starvation tactics in Gaza.
In December 2023, just two months into the war, another 160 containers were shipped directly to Elbit’s advanced technology center in Haifa.
According to its website, Pyramex manufactures a broad range of ammunition containers designed for shotgun shells, artillery, and mortar rounds — including 155mm shells, which are among the key munitions used by Israeli occupation forces during the Gaza campaign.
Most of the shipments were destined for Elbit’s Ramat HaSharon facility near Tel Aviv — a critical hub for the production of Israeli ground weapons and drone technologies. Elbit Systems supplies up to 85% of the Israeli military’s land-based equipment and maintains multiple manufacturing sites within the United Kingdom.
Joe Glenton, a former British soldier and campaigner with Forces Watch, told Declassified:
“Despite the UK government’s apparent rhetorical shift regarding Israel’s war on Gaza, British companies are still fueling the machinery of genocide. Empty words mean nothing unless they are matched by an immediate and total arms export ban — enforced with real legal consequences.”
The revelations come amid intensifying scrutiny over the UK’s role in supplying materials used in alleged war crimes against Palestinian civilians. The fact that shipments continued during the entirety of the 20-month war — despite mounting international outrage over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza — adds to concerns over British complicity.
The UK Department for Business and Trade responded to the revelations by stating that it operates a “robust licensing regime for controlled goods,” adding that it had suspended export licenses for materials potentially usable in Gaza operations — except for components linked to the F-35 fighter jet program.
Human rights advocates and legal experts argue that this exception undermines the supposed ban and reinforces Britain’s indirect support for Israel’s deadly campaign, despite widespread calls for full arms divestment and accountability.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=63931
