The multimillion-dollar cost to Israel of the war in the Gaza Strip

The offensive of Israel in Link It has already left more than 22,438 dead, 7,000 missing and 57,614 injured. Furthermore, the Palestinian enclave is being razed to the ground and 80% of its 2.4 million inhabitants have been forcibly displaced and now live in overcrowded makeshift camps. At this point, it is worth asking how much it is costing Israel to maintain the war that began on October 7th.

The answer was given by economists consulted by the American newspaper The Washington Post, who estimated that Israel This war costs 19 billion dollars, that is, around 220 million dollars per day.

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Since October 7, the Washington Post notes, Israeli government spending and borrowing has soared, tax revenues have plummeted and the country’s credit rating could take a hit.. The growth outlook for 2024 will fall from the 3% initially estimated to 1%, according to the Bank of Israel.

Israeli soldiers with their tanks gather in a position near the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, on January 1, 2024. (EFE/EPA/ABIR SULTAN). (ABIR SULTAN/)

The American newspaper cited the former deputy governor of the Bank of Israel, Zvi Eckstein, and his fellow economists at Reichman University, who concluded that during the fourth quarter of 2023, the impact on the Israeli state coffers –including the collapse of tax collection– was 19 billion dollars, and in the first quarter of 2024 it will probably be 20 billion. This is as long as the war does not go further Link.

According to financial newspaper Calcalist, A war lasting another five to ten months could cost Israel up to $50 billion.equivalent to 10% of the country’s GDP.

“It is important to understand that war has a ripple effect,” Yaron Zelekha, a professor at Ono Academic College and a former economist at the Israeli Ministry of Finance, told the Washington Post. On the one hand, there is the material cost of the fight against the war itself, the sharp drop in economic activity and the consequent drop in income. But this deficit spending generates debt that will weigh on the budget long after the fighting ends, the Washington Post reported.

Israeli artillery unit prepares to fire at a target in Lebanon from an undisclosed location on the border, on January 4, 2024. (EFE/EPA/ATEF SAFADI).

On December 18th, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahustated that the defense budget should increase by 20 billion shekels ($5.5 billion) per year.

Days earlier, the Israeli Parliament had approved adding an additional 25.9 billion shekels (about $7 billion) to the 2023 budget to help cover the costs of the Gaza war, including compensation for military reservists and accommodation. emergency response for internally displaced people who had to leave their homes located near the border with the Palestinian enclave.

The destruction in Gaza in December 2023. (AFP).

On Wednesday, the Government of Linkcontrolled by Hamasdenounced that the Israeli army launched more than 45 thousand missiles and bombs in the enclave, which add up to a power greater than three nuclear bombs like those launched in Hiroshima.

Until mid-December, More than half of all homes in Gaza were destroyed by Israeli bombings (around 50 thousand units) and more than 200 thousand suffered damage, reported the German network DW. Additionally, dozens of hospitals and medical centers, hundreds of schools and government buildings were destroyed, as were agricultural facilities.

This photo taken on January 3, 2024 shows a view of buildings destroyed by Israeli shelling in the center of the Gaza Strip. (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP). (JACK GUEZ/)

How much will it cost to rebuild everything? The first estimates, according to DW, suggest that Reconstruction of Gaza could cost up to 50 billion dollars.

However, this number may be short if the most recent precedent is taken into account. During the Israeli offensive on Gaza in 2021, around 1,000 homes and commercial establishments were destroyed and another 16,257 were damaged, in addition to 60 schools. The cost of reconstruction was then estimated at around 8 billion dollars.notes DW.

¿Will Gaza be rebuilt? Israel guaranteed that its operation in Palestinian territory will end when it completely eliminates Hamas. At the beginning of the war, the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu assured that he had no intention of returning to occupy Link nor force Palestinians to go to third countries.

But in recent days voices have emerged within the Israeli coalition government arguing that settlers should reoccupy Link.

Furthermore, the Times of Israel digital media assured that the country is negotiating with several nations, including the Congo Republicfor the resettlement of Palestinians from Link when the war ends.

According to this means, the Executive of the Netanyahu has put plans in place for what it describes as “voluntary” migration on behalf of the 2.3 million inhabitants of the Gaza strip who wants to leave.

But if finally Israel fulfills its promise not to occupy again LinkWho should be responsible for its reconstruction?

An aerial view from December 26, 2023 shows destroyed buildings in Beit Lahia following Israeli bombings in the northern Gaza Strip. (AFP photo). (-/)

Before voices arose calling for the reoccupation of LinkIsraeli media reported that Netanyahu asked the authorities Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates whether they would be willing to foot the bill for reconstruction.

It has also been suggested that both the European Union as U.S could finance reconstruction. Both territories are major donors of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

But both the United States and Europe would hesitate to allocate millions of taxpayer dollars to rebuild infrastructure that is likely to be bombed again in the near future, DW said.

“I heard senior European Union officials say unequivocally that Europe will not pay for the reconstruction of Gaza. (The sums of money demanded by Ukraine are already staggering),” wrote Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator for the British newspaper Financial Times, in December. “The US Congress also appears to be turning against all forms of foreign aid,” he added.

DW specifies that there is a current that estimates that Israel is the one who must pay for the damage caused during its current military campaign in Link.

The German network recalled that in 2010, Israel agreed to compensate the main United Nations agency working on Link with 10.5 million dollars for the buildings it destroyed during its operation in the enclave in 2009, much less compared to today.

The war in Gaza on January 3, 2024. (AFP).

Source: Elcomercio