Israel Vs. Pakistan: Who Has More Military Prowess?

The Israel- Palestine conflict is forming new bonds and relations. Pakistan is now standing with the Gulf countries, the Arab World, and Palestine. This became evident with the recent comments made by Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari. She termed the clash between Israelis and Palestinians as a ‘massacre’ conducted by Israel. The statement was a deviation from the UN Chief’s wording of the violence as ‘conflict.’ The Pakistani minister added that the UN needs to protect Palestinian people from Israel’s state terrorism. 

This comes as a bit of change from where Pakistan was standing with Israel last year. The relationship was warming up between the two countries, pushing Palestine to reconsider its politics with Pakistan. 

Hypothetically, if we consider that the friction between Israel and Pakistan and the situation manifests into the confrontation between the armed forces, then who is likely to come out at the top. 

In case of a military conflict between Pakistan and Israel, the ground action will be little or very limited since they do not share any physical borders. The conflict will be part of the air and sea. 

If we look into the manpower, Pakistan has more strength and pool of recruits and reserved forces with 653,800 active personnel, 513,00 reserve personnel, and 48,453,305 available for the military. Despite Israel spending 5.8% in the military compared to Pakistan’s 2.9%, it has only 176,500 active military personnel, 445,00 reserve, and 1,797,960 available for the military. Also, both being a nuclear power, the odds are tied. 

However, over the years, Israel has been developing its own technology and even delivered the first battery of its Iron Dome system to the US military. IDF is also known to have long-range tactile, ballistic, and highly effective missiles with advanced satellite programming. 

Israel also has a multi-layered air defense system with ammunition known for its precision. If we look into the numbers, Pakistan leads with 1,143 military aircraft compared to Israel’s 772. Israel leads the way with 352 Multirole aircraft, while Pakistan has 225. But Pakistan has the edge over Israel with 90 attack aircraft, with later having only 25. 

Similarly, with the naval forces, Israel’s less in number with 74 compared to Pakistan’s 23 won’t be a problem because of its technology. However, both the countries have five submarines each, and Israel has 3 Corvettes, with Pakistani having none. Israel, while having no Frigates, Pakistan has 9. 

As per experts, despite Israel lacking numbers compared to Pakistan, they have better technology and equipment. Israel has developed their F-35i jets with local technology, and IDF has upgraded its air power to one of the best in the world. It is believed that the Israeli Air Force can strike over thousands of targets daily, which is more than any international coalition or a country. 

Given these inputs from experts, it is possible that Israel can overpower Pakistan in a military face-off.