The U.S. has long maintained a vast military presence in Africa, with dozens of bases and joint training conducted in nations across the continent. Given the close relationship between the U.S. and the Israeli military and its technologies, this network has also boosted African countries’ collaboration with Israel and their reliance on Israeli weapons. 

The trilateral relations are often presented as a win for all involved. Washington, D.C., uses these networks for influence, Israel expands its arms market despite strained diplomacy, and African nations gain sophisticated, if controversial, military capabilities. But after two years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, this alliance raises grave ethical concerns for African countries purchasing “battle-tested” technologies used to wipe out Palestinians.

AFRICOM’s role

The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) network, which is promoted as fostering peace and stability in the region, has strengthened Israeli defense presence in Africa. This collaboration, including shared technology, often ignores the moral costs tied to Gaza’s massacre. 

Direct ties between AFRICOM and Israeli firms remain unclear. However, the command’s expansive presence, including joint exercises and base stations, has opened doors for Israeli military technologies. 

Since its launch in 2007, AFRICOM has operated about 13 permanent bases and 17 semipermanent “lily pads” across the continent. The figures are exclusive of the bases where the U.S. uses “host nation facilities,” for instance, in Singo, Uganda, and in Thiès, Senegal .

James Obuba, a sustainable peace promoter based in Nairobi, Kenya, told Prism that U.S. military training programs that bring together African countries showcase Israeli technologies and facilitate foreign military sales. 

“Despite the strong opposition in the global space of the atrocities that are taking place in Palestine, [AFRICOM] puts Israel at a higher place to continue to influence its positions not only in the global space but also in the Global South,” Obuba said.

In this way, AFRICOM’s mission goes beyond counterterrorism; it restructures local militaries and influences procurement. 

For instance, U.S. military bases make it possible for AFRICOM to carry out its annual “African Lion” exercise, held across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia with participants from more than 20 countries, including NATO members. The drills ensure interoperability among the U.S., its allies, and the African forces, and emphasize ensuring that different forces operate equipment compatible with each other. Much of this equipment is designed to operate seamlessly with additional Israeli technology.

This year’s African Lion included Israel, deepening the country’s ties to African nations. Morocco, one of the host countries, is a close partner with both Washington and Tel Aviv and has purchased Israeli arms. Morocco normalized relations with Israel in late 2020 after the U.S. brokered the Abraham Accords, establishing relations between Israel and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Kenya has followed a similar path, building a strong relationship with Israel in “matters of culture, military support, training, and aid,” Obuba said. 

Such ties, reinforced by U.S.-led training exercises and treaties, create ripple effects across the continent: When African militaries develop relations with Israel and see its weapons systems in action during drills, they become more likely to procure the technology themselves.

Many AFRICOM member states adopt NATO-certified military systems, which Israeli systems are designed to complement. For instance, the Royal Moroccan Army earlier this year ordered 36 ATMOS 2000 artillery units from Israeli weapons company Elbit Systems to replace the French CAESAR system previously mounted on the army’s Czech Tatra trucks.

These collaborations provide market opportunities for Israeli weapons companies in Africa and raise concerns of complicity, tying military activities in Africa directly to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Israel was the world’s eighth-largest arms exporter from 2020 to 2024, representing 3.1% of the global share. The country’s “defense” exports rose 13% in 2024 from the previous year, reaching $14.8 billion. Latin America and Africa accounted for an estimated 2% of the total exports. 

Kenya recently acquired the Spyder air defense system in an approximately $27.1 million (3.5 billion shillings) deal backed by an Israeli loan. Israel also exported $23.92 million in arms and ammunition, parts, and accessories to Rwanda in 2022, the same year that Rwanda was accused of assisting a resurgence of M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the conflict has killed about 6 million people since 1996. 

Weapons tested on Palestinians

Israeli weapons are often marketed in Africa as “battle-tested,” meaning that they have been proven to work in a real conflict. 

“That’s attractive to many African states … [because] it cuts down the risk of buying something unproven,” said Brener Kwata, founder and managing director of Brenco Security in Nairobi.

But that appeal comes at an alarming moral cost. 

“That testing has been in Gaza, where the civilian toll has been catastrophic and is now under heavy international scrutiny,” Kwata said. Technologies refined in Gaza are later exported to over 130 countries, including some in Africa.

Despite being a signatory, Israel is not abiding by the principles of the Arms Trade Treaty, including preventing weapons from being used in war crimes or human rights violations.

“Israel has used the genocide as an opportunity to test new weapons … to exterminate the population without restraint,” Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Reporter on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory, said in an address to the Human Rights Council in July. “At the same time, since October 2023, the Tel Aviv stock exchange soared by 213%, amassing $225.7 billion in market gains—including $67.8 billion in the past month alone. One people enriched, one people erased.”

Examples of Israeli technologies exported to Africa specifically include Israeli cyberintelligence company NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, which authorities in Rwanda and Uganda have deployed to surveil smartphones of domestic dissidents. 

“Pegasus [was] used against journalists, activists, and even critics abroad,” Kwata said, underscoring the tool’s reach beyond borders.

Pegasus, spyware which has been used against Palestinian activists, reinforces state impunity despite being exported as “spyware diplomacy” under the Defense Export Control Law.

“African nations have options. They can pause … arms deals until there are credible assurances of compliance with international law,” Kwata said, urging governments to consider stronger oversight. “We build a more strategic autonomy, and we show that Africa can take a principled stand.”

The continent’s future security may depend on leadership choices more than imported arms, or risk getting dragged into wars created by others, Kwata said.

Correction, Oct. 30, 2025: An earlier version of this story misstated the U.S. dollar conversion of the value of the deal in which Kenya acquired the Spyder air defense system, backed by an Israeli loan. The deal was valued at approximately $27.1 million, or 3.5 billion Kenyan shillings.

Editorial Team:
Sahar Fatima, Lead Editor
Carolyn Copeland, Top Editor
Stephanie Harris, Copy Editor