Israel spends $260 million a day on fighting

Israel’s military action against Hamas is costing the Jewish state $260 million a day, and the conflict has already caused nearly $8 billion in economic damage. reports Bloomberg.

According to the agency, the budget deficit in October increased more than seven times compared to last year.

“Israeli assets, from shekels to bonds, have recovered most, if not all, of the losses from the Hamas attack. But there is still an aura of risk hanging over the government debt. The cost of insuring Israeli government bonds against default is more than double what it was before the war,” Bloomberg writes.

Amid military spending in Israel, questions have arisen about the “unprecedented” funding of religious programs and settlements in the West Bank. According to Bloomberg, 300 economists called on the country’s leadership to “immediately come to their senses”: in a joint statement they called for an end to funding “everything that is not necessary for the war, especially coalition funds.” The appeal, as noted, was signed by Nobel laureate in economics Joshua David Angrist.

Last year, Israel achieved a budget surplus for the first time since 2000, and military spending fell for the first time in more than a decade, the agency said. The government says the budget deficit could reach 4% of GDP this year and 5% in 2024, more than double previous forecasts.