Introduction

Israel and Serbia have developed extensive military and cyber ties, starting in Israel’s documented arms sales to Serbian forces during the Bosnian genocide in the 1990’s. Military cooperation has intensified in recent years. Since the 2023 Gaza war, Serbian arms exports to Israel have surged, and reached €55.5 million in just the first six months of 2025. In August 2025 Serbia signed a $1.64 billion deal with the Israeli Elbit to purchase a range of military systems, following a $335 million deal signed in November 2024. Serbian authorities use Israeli cyber technologies to monitor the civil society, including Pegasus by NSO Group, Cellebrite’s UFED, Circles’ cyberspying system, and Cytrox’s Predator.

Relations between Serbia and Israel

Israel and Serbia maintain diplomatic relations established between Israel and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1948. The current diplomatic relations between Israel and Serbia started in 1992, Since the breakup of Yugoslavia during the Yugoslav Wars, and the establishment of Serbia as an independent state.^[1]Wikipedia, Israel–Serbia relations

During the Bosnian genocide in the 1990s, Israel was involved in supplying arms and military training to Serbian forces, despite a United Nations arms embargo and mounting evidence of war crimes.^[2]+972 Magazine, Supreme Court rules against exposing Israel’s role in Bosnian genocide, 05.12.2016^[3]Maariv, From the massacre in Serbia to the deportation of the Rohingya: Israel continues to sell weapons in disgrace, 30.11.2017

In recent years, the two countries have strengthened their ties through increased economic cooperation, particularly in trade, technology and defense.

July 2023: Israel’s minister of foreign affairs, Eli Cohen, met Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic during a visit to Belgrade, the first Israeli foreign minister to visit Serbia in 14 years. The two discussed the threat from Iranian terrorism and strengthening relations between Israel and Serbia in the fields of economy, innovation and cyber defense.^[4]Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister meets with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, 12.07.2023

July 2024: Israeli and Serbian officials, including Communications Ministers Dr. Shlomo Karai and Dejan Ristić, met to discuss expanding cooperation in communications, with a strong focus on cybersecurity.^[5]Israel’s Ministry of Communications, Lining up for cooperation between Israel and Serbia in the field of communications, 16.07.2024

September 2024: the two countries have been developing economic relations in the fields of technology and artificial intelligence. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said there is “huge space for cooperation” in these sectors, as well as in cyber security, for further attracting Israeli investments.^[6]Italian Institute for International Political Studies, Serbia and Israel: Anatomy of a Friendship, 13.10.2024

September 2024: Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Israeli President Isaac Herzog attended a Serbia-Israel round table on synergy in innovation and commerce in Belgrade, where three memorandum of cooperation were signed. The Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed agreements with the Israel Export Institute, the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, and the Manufacturers’ Association of Israel to strengthen economic ties. Additionally, Serbia’s Office for IT and eGovernment and the Israel Innovation Authority signed a joint statement on technological innovation.^[7]The Government of the Republic of Serbia, Documents signed on cooperation between Serbian, Israeli institutions. 11.09.2024^[8]Tanjug, Serbia, Israel sign MoUs on cooperation, declaration on tech innovation, 11.09.2024 Serbian authorities said during the visit discussions were held about a possible free trade agreement. According to the Serbian president Vucic his talks with Herzog also touched on technology and artificial intelligence and of “huge space for cooperation” in attracting Israeli investment in the field of cybersecurity.^[9]Haaretz, Israel-Serbia Ties Intensify: Arms Sales From Belgrade to IDF Shoot Up by 3,000%, 28.01.2025

January 2025: Israel’s president Isaac Herzog met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the World Economic Forum in Davos.^[10]Haaretz, Israel-Serbia Ties Intensify: Arms Sales From Belgrade to IDF Shoot Up by 3,000%, 28.01.2025

February 2025: Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Marko Đurić, visited Jerusalem and met with Israel’s minister of foreign affairs, Gideon Sa’ar. Sa’ar thanked him for Serbia’s support of Israel,” which was demonstrated not only in words but also in deeds”. The two agreed to continue cooperating to strengthen diplomatic, trade, and economic ties between their countries.^[11]Israel National News, Foreign Minister: ‘Serbia stood by us in our difficult time’, 19.2.2025

April 2025: A joint investigation between the Israeli Haaretz and the Balkan BIRN reveals that Israel Einhorn, former advisor to the Israeli PM Netanyahu who relocated to Serbia, worked to burnish the reputation of Serbian President Vucic and facilitate the shipments of Serbian ammunition to Israel during the Israeli assault on Gaza. Einhorn is wanted for questioning in the Qatargate case, is under investigation for allegedly leaking secret military documents to a journalist from German newspaper Bildand has also been indicted over the alleged harassment of a prosecution witness against Netanyahu.^[12]Balkan Insight, Billboards and Bullets: An Israeli Spin Doctor at the Service of Serbia, 16.04.2025

Military Relations

Israel and Serbia have developed extensive military and cyber ties, marked by significant arms deals and surveillance technology transfers, starting in Israel’s documented arms sales to Serbian forces during the Bosnian genocide. Since the 2023 Gaza war, Serbian arms exports to Israel have surged by 3,000%, reaching over €42 million by the end of 2024. In November 2024, Serbia signed a $335 million deal with Elbit for PULS artillery rocket systems and Hermes 900 drones.

During the Bosnian genocide in the 1990s, Israel was involved in supplying arms and military training to Serbian forces, despite a United Nations arms embargo and mounting evidence of war crimes, including ethnic cleansing and genocide. Documents and testimonies presented in a petition to Israel’s Supreme Court in 2016 revealed that Israeli arms dealers—operating with the knowledge of the state—provided sniper rifles, ammunition, and other weapons to Serbian forces. General Ratko Mladić, later convicted of genocide, explicitly referenced Serbia’s arms ties with Israel in his personal journal. Reports indicate that an arms deal was signed between Israeli officials and Serbia in October 1991, shortly after the UN embargo was enacted, and that Israeli-made weapons, including shells with Hebrew inscriptions, were used in combat. Additionally, Israeli personnel reportedly trained Serbian troops, all while Israel publicly condemned the genocide. Despite this evidence, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected a petition to disclose details of these arms exports, arguing that revealing them would harm Israel’s foreign relations. The ruling was made in a closed session, barring the petitioners from hearing the state’s arguments.^[13]+972 Magazine, Supreme Court rules against exposing Israel’s role in Bosnian genocide, 05.12.2016^[14]Maariv, From the massacre in Serbia to the deportation of the Rohingya: Israel continues to sell weapons in disgrace, 30.11.2017

2008: Serbia purchased 10 Orbiter unmanned aircraft systems to be supplied by Aeronautics for $700,000. Serbian soldiers came to Israel for training.^[15]Flight Global, Serbians go to Israel for Orbiter unmanned air vehicle training, 16.10.2008

2022: Serbian UN ambassador participated in a delegation that visited Israel last, met with senior IDF officials, visited military bases and an Iron Dome battery.^[16]Israel Defense, Israel invites UN ambassadors to learn about its security challenges first-hand, 19.12.2022

Since the war in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon began in October 2023, the number of arms shipments from Serbia to Israel has jumped by thousands of percent. By June 2024, Serbia has exported a total 16.3 million euros worth of weapons to Israel.^[17]Haaretz, During Gaza War: Massive Spike in Serbian Arms Sold to Israel, Flown in on Israeli Military Planes, 10.06.2024 The sum of Serbian arms exports to Israel topped 42 million euros by the end of 2024, representing a 3,000% increase compared to the previous year.^[18]Haaretz, Israel-Serbia Ties Intensify: Arms Sales From Belgrade to IDF Shoot Up by 3,000%, 28.01.2025

November 2024: Serbia signed a $335 million deal with Elbit for PULS artillery rocket systems and Hermes 900 reconnaissance drones.^[19]The Defense Post,  Serbia Signs $335M Deal for Israeli PULS Artillery System, Hermes Drones, 06.01.2025

23 June 2025: After the Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced a halt to all military exports to Israel. Yet, the next day a plane allegedly carrying military equipment flew from Belgrade to Israel’s Nevatim airbase.^[20]Haaretz, After Serbian Halt to Arms Exports | Serbia’s 2025 Military Exports to Israel Already Outstrip Record-setting 2024, 05.08.2025

January-June 2025: Serbia exported ammunition to Israel worth 55.5 million euros in the first half of 2025 alone, exceeding the value of military exports to Israel in all of 2024, which reached a record 47.9 million euros.^[21]Haaretz, After Serbian Halt to Arms Exports | Serbia’s 2025 Military Exports to Israel Already Outstrip Record-setting 2024, 05.08.2025

August 2025: Serbia signed a $1.63 billion deal with Elbit to purchase various systems including long-range precision missiles, electronic warfare systems, various UAVs and drones, upgrades to combat vehicles and more.^[22]CTech, Serbia revealed as buyer in Elbit’s $1.63 billion arms deal, 17.08.2025^[23]Elbit Systems, Elbit Systems Awarded $1.635 Billion Contract to Deliver a Range of Defense Solutions to a European Country, 13.08.2025

April 2026: Serbian state-owned company SDPR will partner with the Israeli Elbit to open a drone factory in Serbia, with the Israeli partner having a majority state of 51 per cent. The new factory is planned to produce two types of drones: a rotary-wing model capable of carrying heavy payloads of ammunition on short-range missions and a more sophisticated, long-range drone capable of flying at altitudes of up to 6,000 metres.^[24]Balkan Insight, Serbia Poised to Produce Drones with Israeli Arms Giant Involved in Gaza, 07.04.2026^[25]Haaretz, Serbia and Israel to Jointly Manufacture Combat Drones, Serbian President Says, 14.04.2026

Cyber and spyware

Serbian authorities deploy surveillance technology and digital repression tactics as instruments of state control and repression directed against civil society. Serbia routinely uses pervasive spyware, mostly based on Israeli technology, against Serbian environmental activists and protest leaders.^[26]Amnesty International, “A Digital Prison” Surveillance and the suppression of civil society in Serbia. 16.12.2024

Pegasus, NSO group: In October 2023 two Serbian activists were notified by Apple about a possible “state-sponsored attack” targeting their devices. Amnesty International later confirmed that both individuals were targeted with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.^[27]Amnesty International, “A Digital Prison” Surveillance and the suppression of civil society in Serbia. 16.12.2024

UFED, Cellebrite: In December 2024 Amnesty International revealed that Serbian police and intelligence used Cellebrite forensic extraction tools to hack journalists and activists, and to infect their devices with the NoviSpy spyware system.^[28]Amnesty International, Serbia: “A Digital Prison”: Surveillance and the suppression of civil society in Serbia, 16.12.2024^[29]The Guardian, Serbian authorities using spyware to illegally surveil activists, report finds, 16.12.24

Circles Cyberspionage System, Circles: In 2020 a report by Citizen Lab listed Serbia’s Security Information Agency (BIA) as a user of a surveillance software developed by the Israeli company Circles. The software enables location of every phone in the country in seconds.^[30]Balkan Insight, Serbian Security Service Named Among Users of Israeli Surveillance Software, 04.12.2020

Predator, Cytrox: In 2021, Citizen Lab found evidence that Serbia is a likely customer of Cytrox’s spyware Predator.(Citizen Lab, Pegasus vs. Predator, 16.12.2021))  Like the more known Pegasus, Predator collects information from mobile devices and associated cloud services. Files, photos, internet histories, contacts and passwords are transferred to the clients after a successful infection.^[31]https://digit.site36.net/2022/04/21/predator-by-cytrox-spyware-discovered-on-phone-of-greek-journalist/

Cyberbit: Citizen Lab found that the Israeli company CyberBit, a subsidiary of Elbit, is marketing its products in Serbia.^[32]The Citizen Lab, Champing at the Cyberbit, 06.12.2017