Israel's economy loses $600 million/week due to Gaza war

Kinh tế Israel thiệt hại 600 triệu USD/tuần vì chiến sự Gaza - 1 — An Israeli soldier rests his head on the barrel of an armored vehicle's gun near the border with Gaza in southern Israel (Photo: AFP).

The report, which tallied weekly losses in the first three weeks of the war that began on October 7, concluded that the decline in labor supply was due to the mobilization of reserve troops, the evacuation of residents in the south and north, and the closure of the education system, making it difficult for parents to go to work.

Specifically, Israel is said to have lost more than $325 million due to the closure of educational facilities, about $150 million due to 144,000 evacuated residents not going to work, and about $130 million due to the mobilization of about 360,000 reserve troops.

The Bank of Israel noted that the partial reopening of the education system in recent days could help reduce the damage.

After being surprised by Hamas's attack, Israel responded strongly with an air and ground campaign on the Gaza Strip, promising to completely destroy Hamas.

Israel and its closest ally, the United States, have no concrete plans for the future of the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country will manage security in the Palestinian territory for an "indefinite period" after the war ends, but has ruled out a permanent occupation.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, several organizations have come up with estimates of the cost of Israel's war.

The economic newspaper Calcalist in early November estimated an "optimistic" figure of up to 51 billion USD, equal to 10% of GDP, under the condition that the war lasts 8-12 months, is confined to the Gaza Strip without intervention from Hezbollah, Iran or Yemen, and with 350,000 Israeli reservists returning to work soon.

The Israeli military disagrees with Calcalist's figure.

Meanwhile, Bank Hapoalim estimated in early October that Israel would spend at least $6.8 billion on the war with Hamas. This estimate was based on the costs of previous wars, such as the second war with Lebanon in 2006, which lasted 34 days and cost $2.4 billion.

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