Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Israeli business daily newspaper, Calcalist, revealed that the cost of Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip had cost up to 200 billion shekels or US$ 51 billion, equivalent to IDR 795.04 trillion. They claim this figure is based on preliminary calculations by the Israeli Ministry of Finance.
The daily newspaper revealed that this estimate, which is equivalent to 10% of Israel’s gross domestic product (GDP), is based on Gaza’s eight- to 12-month war with Hamas, without taking into account the cost of attacks carried out by Hezbollah.
“Without taking into account the full participation costs of Lebanese, Iranian or Yemeni Hezbollah, the approximately 350,000 Israelis recruited as military reserves immediately returned to work,” as reported by Reuters, Sunday (5/11/2023).
Calcalist described the ministry as considering 200 billion shekels an “optimistic” estimate. However, the Israeli Ministry of Finance said that they did not confirm Calcalist’s data.
Calcalist also revealed that half of these costs were for defense costs which reached 1 billion shekels per day. Another 40-60 billion shekels will come from lost income, 17-20 billion for compensation for businesses and 10-20 billion shekels for rehabilitation.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich previously said that the Israeli government was preparing an economic aid package for those affected by the Palestinian attacks. It is claimed that the aid package will be “bigger and more extensive” than during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said that his country was committed to helping everyone affected by the war that is currently heating up.
“My direction is clear: Open the taps and distribute funds to whoever needs them,” he said without providing specific figures.
“Just as we did during Covid. In the last decade, we have built a very strong economy here and even if war exacts an economic price from us, as it does now, we will pay it without hesitation,” said Netanyahu .
In the midst of Israel’s heated war with Hamas, S&P is noted to have cut Israel’s debt rating outlook to “negative”, while Moody’s and Fitch put Israel’s ratings under review for a possible downgrade.
The war escalated after the Hamas armed group from Gaza launched the deadliest attack on Israel in the country’s history on October 7. Since then, Israel has responded by bombarding Gaza with the aim of eliminating the group.
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