Gaza war estimated to cost Israel $48B

ISTANBUL, Türkiye

The ongoing Israeli war on Gaza could cost the Israeli economy $48 billion over the current and next year, a financial consulting company estimated on Thursday.

“It is likely that Israel will bear two-thirds of the total costs of the war, with the remaining portion covered by the United States in the form of military aid,” reported Israeli Leader Capital Markets.

The $48 billion estimate is lower than the previous assessments, including a recent announcement by the Israeli National Economic Council, estimating the cost of the war on the Israeli economy at potentially 200 billion shekels ($54 billion).

The Israeli Ministry of Finance estimated in October that the economic cost of the war was $270 million per day, emphasizing that the end of the war does not mean a halt to losses.

The figures from Leader Capital Markets mean that the Israeli government will likely need to borrow again to navigate through what is already described as the worst armed conflict in half a century, according to Bloomberg on Thursday.

The agency quoted Yali Rotenberg, the chief accountant at the Israeli Ministry of Finance, as saying: “We are moving forward with the basic scenario that indicates several months of fighting, and we are building additional buffers. We can finance the state.”

Although the government issued international bonds through private placements via Wall Street banks, such as Goldman Sachs, it relies on the local market to absorb most of its financing needs.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala