Israeli Air Force 'one of world's most professional,' German chief tells 'Post'

Israel’s air force is one of the most professional and one of the most precise in the world, German Air Force Chief Lt.-Gen. Ingo Gerhartz told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday in an exclusive interview, during a solidarity visit to Israel.

Speaking only minutes after donating blood at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, he said that the IAF “is one of the most professional air forces in the world – in all respects…in military terms and in accuracy in action.”

Gerhartz added that “Israel has the right to defend itself. There is no doubt, especially from the German perspective. Looking at our history, some people say it [Hamas’s slaughter of Israelis on October 7] is like a second Holocaust

“Now it is our full obligation to be at Israel’s side and to show our solidarity. I’m not deep into the military [planning of the IDF], but I met my counterpart, Tomer Bar, Israel’s air force chief, and met your defense minister, Yoav Gallant, as a sign of solidarity.”

A number of international bodies have criticized Israel’s conduct of the war with Gaza – in terms of its high casualty count, which, according to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Health Ministry, is well over 10,000.

On visiting: You 'can only show [solidarity] if you are here.'

While he said he could not speak to the specifics of Israel’s military tactics, it was important for him to give general backing to the professional and moral character of Israel’s commanders who he has known for years.

Though flights have decreased and Israel’s tourism is taking a hit, Gerhartz said that even while Hamas and Hezbollah rockets are still raining down on the country, “it is so important to come and show solidarity. One can only show that if you are here and present.

“It is not a question for me of safe or not safe. It is just a question of solidarity. We did so much [with Israel in the past]. I flew over this country, over the Knesset, over the sign of democracy, with Israel’s air force chief. It is an obligation for me to come here whenever it is feasible,” he said.

He said the visit was “pre-planned,” he was supposed to fly to Israel “for the Blue Flag [Exercise], a lot of countries were coming and would have flown together from the Uvda Airforce Base. It was scheduled right for this time.

“We still had a chance in Jordan, I went there to see my people. When they are there in the region, I want to be there at the same time in Israel. We came, even if the exercise was canceled, to come to Israel, to show by my presence the solidarity,” he explained.

Asked if he had experienced any danger since arriving in Israel, he said that “there was one siren yesterday. We acted in a controlled way going to the shelter close by. We walked there. It is not normal, but people here are much more used to it than we are.”

That said, he recalled that during his service for a year in Afghanistan, he went through many rocket warning sirens.

On 'day after' in Gaza: 'It is a real complex situation.' 

Questioned about the idea that to date, Israel has not explained how it will handle Gaza after it topples Hamas, he responded that “it is a real complex situation. Everybody knows that it cannot come to the same point as it has been before, but what is the solution to it? It is really complex and difficult. I hope they will find a solution and that at the end we have peace again.”

In addition, Gerhartz stated, “We fly our own big UAV unmanned system for signal intelligence, making reconnaissance runs. We fly our Heron TP out of Israel. After the attack on October 7, we gave some of our systems to the Israeli air force. Everybody was so grateful for that, saying it was really valuable that we have your systems and that we can use them.”

Meanwhile, a German government source told Reuters on Wednesday that German defense export approvals to Israel so far this year have risen nearly tenfold from last year, with Berlin treating permit requests as a priority since Hamas militants attacked Israel last month.

As of November 2, the German government has approved the export of close to €303 million worth of defense equipment to Israel. By comparison, €32m. worth of defense exports were approved in all of 2022.

The majority of individual export permits – 185 out of 218 – were granted after the October 7 attack.

“Following the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, applications for the export of military equipment to Israel are being prioritized and approved by the federal government,” said the source.

Even with the increase, Israel accounts for a minor share of Germany’s military exports, which totaled €8.76 billion in the first nine months of 2023.

Germany primarily supplies Israel with components for air defense systems and communications equipment, according to the German press agency dpa, which first reported on the figures.

Reuters contributed to this report.